


Street Dreams

by MKelly



Category: Hollywood Undead
Genre: Anal Sex, Homeless AU, Inspired by previous fic, M/M, Rape/Non-con Elements, Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-01
Updated: 2019-03-17
Packaged: 2019-10-20 13:20:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 51
Words: 39,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17623127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MKelly/pseuds/MKelly
Summary: My name is Danny. You probably don't care, no one does. Everyone who walks by me likes to pretend I don't exist, but they're aware I'm there. They know I'm proof that everything is not okay. I'm proof that the city of angels isn't as glamorous as everyone imagines. But they have homes, so they don't care...





	1. Danny

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AwokenMonster](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AwokenMonster/gifts).



> This is inspired by my previous fic, Outside, which was a homeless AU. I hope everyone who reads this enjoys it c:

My name is Danny. You probably don't care, no one does. Why not? I don't have a home. I haven't had a home for years. It's no one's fault but my own, I didn't expect to run away like I did. It just happened. You don't need to know what happened to me before that, or what made me leave. You just need to know that I'm not going back, I'm not welcome there and I'm fine with that. Going back is not an option...

\---~~~---

Danny didn't intentionally end up in the dangerous streets of Los Angeles, he knew the horror stories as well as the fairytales. He didn't have a choice of where he got to be, he gave that up when he ran out. Being homeless was dangerous by itself no matter where you were, being homeless in the area Danny was was even more dangerous.

When Danny was first homeless there weren't many homeless people where he lived. It was a small area, and police kept moving him until he ended up where he was now. In some random street, where dead people where commonly seen, years from when he decided to run.

Police moved him around, but it wasn't an issue he was entirely unhappy for. When he was first homeless, Danny stayed where people knew him, and he knew them. They'd see him sitting on pavement and they'd either give him arrogant scoffs or pitiful expressions before they went on about their day. He hated the humiliation. It didn't help that he had people who didn't like him, people who took advantage of his homeless label and found it fun to beat him. Even if he didn't fight back and let it happen, police always blamed him for the trouble. Danny was homeless after all. He'd be better off a corpse to be cleaned instead of a persistent stain that made the small town look dirty. So yeah, it was better for Danny to keep moving.

That definitely sounded good, right? Leaving the abuse and getting away from the humiliation, not having police officers blame you for everything. It was a happy new beginning, right? Wrong.

It was scary, terrifying. It made Danny's heart race as he walked further and further away from everything he had ever known. He quickly became lonely prey to the world, lonely prey that had gotten lost with nothing to protect himself with. Leaving wasn't good, but going back would never, ever be an option. There was no way he'd ever go back.

But the fear of an unknown area had long since passed. It had been years since he left and learned to survive with next to no money. He had learned to survive. Danny was stronger than what a lot of people gave him credit for. Danny could make it. He had learned not to trust anyone or anything. At least, he thought he did, but the streets were surprising. There was always danger down every alleyway...


	2. Sleepless Night

It wasn't that Danny didn't try to get jobs, he managed to get as far as a few interviews. But sleeping in his clothes and not having access to showers made things awkward, it was hard to get a job when you looked like a mess and within a month, Danny was in such a state that it was impossible for anyone to accept him. There was a thick layer of dirt that covered Danny's body and the only time he managed to ever clean it off was when it rained or in a public convenience. Now, a few years later, he had given up on trying to get a job and had settled for begging and living on barely any money. As time went on, it only ever got harder and harder for him, but he managed to get by and hey, he got this far, didn't he?

Days were repetitive. Danny sat next to a shop door, counting how much money he had made today. Almost three dollars, so he had six right now... He was too tired to even feel terrible about only having that tiny amount to live on. He was never hopeful anymore. It showed in his eyes. 

"You can't stay here, sir." A familiar police officer walked up to Danny. The officer had warned him daily of what would happen if he didn't move. "I've been lenient with you over the past few days, warning you not to be here." Danny's face was blank. He had heard this before.

"This is your last chance." The officer stared down at Danny. "Don't come back." Guess he really did have to find somewhere else now. Slowly, he walked away from his old spot. He'd have to find a new place to beg soon, but for right now, he needed a place to sleep. This could always be considered as a good competitor for the" hardest part of being homeless" award. You just had to be lucky in finding a resting place.

Danny was extremely lucky today, he found a doorway. And not just a doorway, it was a slightly out-of-the-way doorway that meant it was dark, and he wouldn't been seen. That was a good thing. Why? It was safer when he wouldn't be noticed by anyone. A lot of people decided to use homeless people as urinals or punching bags, for some reason that was entertaining for the privaledged people in the world. He'd had that happen before, both of them. But, unlike a shocking amount of other homeless people, he hadn't been a victim to any severe crimes... 

... Yet...

That made him feel vulnerable as he shrinked further into the doorway in fear, he didn't want anything bad to happen. From where Danny lay, feeling cold, he could see people passing him and not noticing he was there. And past them, there was a a really expensively designed mall, that still had a lot of people entering wearing expensive clothes as well as people leaving with expensive clothes, both on their bodies and in shopping bags. The lights inside made the mall look warm, a lot warmer that he was. Danny shivered and then realised, along with hunger pains, that he need to use the bathroom... 

What would he do? Well, if he wanted to use the bathroom inside the mall, his doorway would be the sacrifice. He had never managed to master the art of protecting his bed while going for a piss. And police would kick him out if he tried to stay in the mall. So he'd have to wait until morning until he went to pee... Danny groaned unhappily a few minutes later... No, he couldn't wait until morning... 

Danny was right about the mall. It was fancy and expensive. Even the toilets were painted gold. But that was the least of his problems. As soon as he stepped out and went to the sink, he pulled up his sleeves. A really expensive watch rested on one of his wrists. He hadn't sold it because, well, it was his father's, the only family member who he truly appreciated. This watch reminded him of his dad, and was the only thing to his name that he treasured. That was why, once he had cleaned his hands and face, his heart panicked as someone walked to the sink next to him and he pulled down his sleeves to protect the watch from view.

"Did you pay to come in here?" Danny jumped in fight at, not only the deep, baritone voice of the male, but also the question he had asked. There was no one else in this bathroom...

"P-pay?" There were no signs saying it cost money to use the public toilets, were there? He didn't really look...

"Clearly you haven't." The man's dark eyes gleamed with sinister amusement. "They don't cost anything, but I could use some extra money." He turned to face the homeless male, folding his arms.

"Dylan, hurry your ass up!" A voice called from outside the restroom, probably a friend.

"One minute, Jay!" Dylan called back. Danny kept seeing red flags as he tried to step around the male trapping him. He didn't manage to get away as Dylan stepped to the door, blocking Danny's only exit.

"I-I don't have anything." Okay, so he could have been more confident, but he wasn't. He was scared.

"Bullshit." Dylan called out. "I saw that watch, give it." He walked towards Danny, making him step back.

"N-no!" He wouldn't give it up.

"You don't really have a choice, man." Danny gulped, it must have been obvious as Dylan smirked. Great, what was worse than being afraid? The person that's making you afraid knowing that you are afraid. It only took a second for Danny to duck under the man's arms after his sudden attack and to sprint out the door. On his way, he bumped into the man's impatient friend, panicking even more when he noticed the scary glare of the man. It scared him enough to know he should run, fast, before something very bad happened to him. 

He didn't get any rest that night. 

Maybe he wasn't so lucky...

The next day again, was repetitive. But also tiring, the lack of sleep made it a lot harder to earn money... Or keep track of how much money he had... The days were getting colder too as winter creeped to its peak, which didn't help. 

By lunch, Danny had given up. He was wandering down the street, hugging himself as protection from the cold. It didn't work too well. If only he had somewhere warm, a home... It didn't have to be a home, he just wanted some warmth.

"Fuck!" Danny yelped as something caught his foot and he hit the hard concrete ground, hurting his knee. After cringing in pain for a few seconds, he glared at the cause for what had hurt him. It was a sign advertising the bar next to it. Maybe he could get some warmth in there? And a beer could dull his senses slightly. He had the money for... Maybe one?


	3. Pour Me

"Matt!" Danny called the bartender, who was drying a glass with a cloth. "Pour me another, please?" Danny requested. He knew Matt well as he came to this bar almost every day. The bartender looked at him with concerned blue eyes.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Matt asked with hesitance. "You’re here all the time..." He pointed.

"One more drink." Danny responded. "Then I swear that I'm going home." Danny insisted holding out the last of his money. Matt sighed as he took the coins in his customer's hand and poured him another pint. The truth was that Danny didn't have a place to go. He was homeless. He had been for years. His clothes were ragged and ripped, dirty and had holes in them because they had been worn constantly, day after day. The money he begged people for daily, he wasted it away on alcohol. He didn't know what else to do with the amount of money he got. No one cared what he did, no one gave him a second glance. Apart from Matt, only the bartender working daily showed some sort of care as he placed another drink in front of Danny...

\---~~~---

Danny shivered as he walked down the street of busy people, the upcoming winter affecting the air and making it colder, it had a stronger attack on him than the people travelling with places to be. Pretty soon it was getting dark and Danny hadn't yet found a resting place, he had to soon. It wasn't safe to be on the streets at night, he had to find a place slightly out of the way of anyone. But every possible place Danny found was taken up by another person, he just had to keep walking around until he found somewhere...

Then finally, after a few more hours of walking, Danny felt lucky as he found a doorstep in a quiet alley. He wasn't sure if it was okay to be there as he walked in slowly, looking around carefully before he tried to get as comfortable as possible on the concrete steps. His eyes were closed when he heard voices at the entrance of the alley and his heart rate picked up in anxiety as he internally begged for the owners of the voices to leave, to avoid approaching him. He had no such luck as the voices got louder, indicating that they were getting closer...

"Hey!" Danny cowered slightly as a small tear pushed through his closed eyes out of fear, that word had let him know that he had caught the attention of whoever was there. "What the fuck are you doing here?" The same voice snapped again. Danny kept his eyes tightly shut as he tried to pretend to be asleep. That was a mistake, they knew he was up, he realised as he was lifted up by two strong arms, which had his shirt in their fists. Danny's eyes flickered open in fear as he felt himself get moved from his space. The first thing Danny noticed after his sight came to him was the sharp, fierce chocolate brown eyes of his attacker.

"Please!" Danny whimpered out, closing his eyes again. "I'm sorry!" He apologised. He didn't know what he was apologising for, but he felt as if he had to if he wanted to get himself out of this situation.

"Saying sorry won't save you, bitch." The man snarled.

"Please let me go..." Danny begged. "Please, I had nowhere else to go and this was the only place I could find!"

"What about your house?" The second voice asked. "Y'know, where it's safe?"

"I don't have a home..." Danny admitted as he cried. He begged and prayed that these men would show him sympathy and leave him alone.

"Homeless, eh?" The man holding Danny grinned as lust filled his dark eyes.

"That's even better." The second person also grinned.

"No one cares what happens to a homeless person, do they Dylan?" The man holding Danny asked with an amused tone.

"No, Jorel." The person responded. "They don't." He laughed. "I'm taking that watch from him now though."

"We can do whatever the fuck we want." Jorel smiled at the sight of Danny trying to shrink away from him. His entertainment only grew at Danny's sobs became louder as he grabbed at the homeless man's belt.

"No, please..." Danny begged out as he felt his belt unfasten against his will. "I don't want this! "

"No one gives a fuck about what you want." Jorel snarled as he stopped to take off Danny's watch, handing it to Dylan. The second male grinned and became more fascinated with the accessory as he placed it on his own wrist, happy with what he had finally got. Danny felt cool air attack his legs even more easily as everything protecting the lower part of his body was ripped away from him and thrown away somewhere, him starting to cry as he realised his watch was gone. He didn't have any strength to protect himself, nevermind get it back. 

"Please..." Danny quietly whimpered again, even if it was useless to beg for an escape. He quickly moved his hands to cover himself as a last desperate attempt to keep his privacy. He cried out in fear as he was roughly flipped around and shoved harshly against the cold brick wall, anxiety coursed through his veins as he heard both mens' humoured laughs.

"Don't worry." Jorel hissed. "We don't want your dick." Danny weeped as he heard an unzipping sound. Why was this happening to him? What did he do wrong?

"Shut the fuck up, you little slut." Jorel snarled, grabbing onto Danny's rear and making sure he dug his nails into the soft skin to cause Danny even more pain, but it would be nothing compared to what was about to happen to him. "You know my name, I better fucking hear you say it." He warned, making Danny scream out again as his attacker forced himself roughly into Danny's small opening. Fitting his dick in wasn't easy, due to the lack of preparation and help, but, to Jorel, it was worth it to here the weaker male scream out in agony and more arousal pulsed through him at the sound.

The loud, sharp sound of a slap echoed as Jorel aimed to cause as much pain as possible to the homeless male, pulling him back further onto his dick as he started harshly thrusting into Danny's ass. He let out small groans and grunts in pleasure, but after a while anger crept up as something he wanted from the male below him was missing.

"Say my name." Jorel growled out, pumping into Danny faster as the man continued to sob and cry out. He felt as though he was being ripped apart by the foreign organ that was forced into him, the sharp agony was enough to convince him that his skin was literally tearing. He couldn't say what this man wanted, he didn't have enough strength. It hurt too much...

"Say it!" Jorel snarled. Another hard slap hit Danny's ass as Jorel started to thrust himself even harder and faster, losing his self control completely as he grunted rhythmically with his actions.

"Jorel!" Danny screamed out in clear pain. He hadn't once stopped crying as he felt as though he was bleeding where the source of his pain was. If anything his tears got heavier as he felt his abuser drag his nails deeply across his hips. Loud moans escaped Jorel's mouth along with curses as he felt himself reach his climax.

"Ah, shit!" The man muttered as he erratically pushed in and pulled out repeatedly, trying to reach as deep as he could inside his toy as he released himself inside Danny. "Oh, fuck!" He yelled out as he felt relief wash over him as Danny sobbed with wide eyes, empty with the trauma of what had just happened to him. He let out a scared, agonised yelp as he felt the organ that intruded and violated him get roughly and swiftly pulled completely out as he hit the cold concrete ground. He instinctively curled up and started shaking as the soreness in his ass dulled and ached, but didn't leave. He watched, but his mind didn't register anything as a third person had appeared. He was taller and more muscular than Jorel and Dylan, and after a few minutes he had the two criminals leaving.

"You'll pay for this, Johnny!" Jorel angrily shouted, running off with Dylan, away from their crime. The man glared at where the two men just were with cold, icy blue eyes that flickered over to the injured male that was curled up and shaking. His lower half exposed to the night air as he whined and whimpered, enough evidence for Johnny to know what happened, if he didn't already know when he walked into the alley just a few minutes before.

"Hey..." Johnny gently placed a hand on the smaller male's shoulder. Danny screamed out once again and struggled frantically in fear. "Hey, it's okay..." Johnny tried to soothe the frightened person, but he struggled as the man's scared brown eyes locked onto his own worried ones. "You’re safe with me." Johnny couldn't think of anything else to say.

Danny didn't respond, instead he looked over to his clothes. He weakly crawled over to his trousers and underwear. Ripped and unwearable as they were torn to shreds. His belt was the only thing to survive. What would he do now? He couldn't walk around with nothing covering him, but he could barely walk now either. He cried more as he jumped away in fear of the bag that was dropped next to him.

"Clothes are in there, take what you need." Johnny spoke, wandering back over to the doorstep that Danny had tried to sleep at. It was dangerous to stay there after what had just occurred. Johnny glanced back to the man he had saved, who was having a hard time trying to put on Johnny's clothes due to the pain he was in. The blue eyed man frowned, the smaller male needed the night to heal and was in no condition to be walking anywhere right now. It would have to do. Johnny would stay up.

He let out a sigh as he sat on the step, his bag held out to him by the smaller male. The clothes Johnny wore were oversized on the person he rescued, he tried to hold back the smile as he found it adorable.

"I'll go... Thank you..." Danny would have rathered staying, he would have felt safer. But he owed it to this stranger.

"You can stay. I'll look out for you while you sleep." Johnny explained. Danny nodded slowly as he tried to ignore his pain and comfortably lay down. Why was he so weak? Why didn't he fight for himself more? "What's your name?" Danny's saviour asked.

"Danny." He whispered out.

"Well, Danny. I'm George." Danny's rescuer introduced himself.

"But those... Men, called you Johnny?" Danny couldn't stop his curiosity.

"They don't bother to learn names. Usually no one lives after they two are through with them." Johnny explained, leaving Danny to think. "Get some sleep, you need it."


	4. A Friend

When Danny woke up, it was to a warm chest as a pillow and two police officers glaring down at him. But, with his eyesight still blurry and his head still hazy, he didn't realise that and let out a panicked scream. Jumping away from the source of warmth he had and standing on his feet, convinced that Jorel and Dylan had come back. His eyes wide like a deer caught in headlights.

Then pain attacked him and he fell to the ground, teary-eyed as he felt the dull pain in his rear as a cruel reminder of what had happened the night before. He started shaking in fear, not registering that the people were actually police officers and not the two who had stolen from him and had brutally raped him... Oh God, thinking about that made tears leak from his eyes...

"Danny?" He heard Johnny's voice, but he didn't remember that part of last night. "Danny, it's alright, it's just officers telling us to move." Danny stopped shaking for a small moment, realising something. He looked to Johnny with wide, scared eyes, and then looked to the two figures. It really was only two police officers, both disgusted frowns on their faces as they looked at the two males. 

George's heart melted at the quiet whimper he heard from Danny, the poor boy had gone through so much shit yesterday. And he didn't even know what happened before either. "G-george?" 

"Come on, we have to go." George pushed, helping Danny to weakly stand up. Being careful and stopping every time he heard the tiniest whine of pain from the smaller male. 

"Are you both alright?" One of the officers questioned, not concerned, but more annoyed. 

"Yes, we're going now." George grabbed everything he owned and helped Danny with walking away, the police travelling away once they were gone. 

"It hurts..." Danny couldn't help the small sob that left him, he wasn't good with the pain as he limped away with George. Placing weight on the taller male as he found it harder to walk, the two slowly making their way down the street. 

"I know, we'll get to a nearby café I know of, it will help." Okay, so maybe George didn't know what it was like to have... That... Happen to him... But he wanted to be supportive. "It's just down the street, I can afford a coffee and maybe a bagel each for both of us." Danny's brown eyes looked up at George's icy blue ones, and then he felt every emotion Danny was feeling through them. Pain, sadness, despair, weakness, hurt... But there was something else too. 

The smallest hint of happiness was in there, happy for George being a friend. He gave the smaller male a supportive smile, and Danny smiled softly back. "T-thank you..."

When they got to the café Danny was still in pain, but he was also surprised at how nice the small place looked. It seemed nice and cozy, and definitely not affordable by any homeless people. The fact that he felt like he would stand out as a piece of filth in the clean building was what made him hesitant to walk in, feeling weird as George helped him in. And when he sat down, he felt strange as he realised that they were the only customers in the café... It must have been early.

While George was away getting food and drink for himself and Danny, he found himself staring out the window next to him. It was slowly getting busier and busier as the sky got lighter and lighter, the lasting pain was the only thing that didn't change for him. People walked by on the sidewalk outside and all Danny could do was stare with an empty expression at each one of them, they all looked happier than him. They all had homes, whether they were struggling or not, they had homes. They were better off than him, so they didn't have to feel the pain that Danny was feeling. 

And then someone passed who stood out, definitely homeless. He carried a backback with him and his hair was greasy, face dirty, clothes tattered, Danny could relate. He watched carefully as the homeless male received looks of disgust all the way to the other side of the road as he crossed and sat down, setting up his begging space. 

Danny's brown eyes widened as he recognised Jay and Dylan. He felt uncomfortable with them being right across the road from him... What if they notice him through the window and came after him again? Fear snuck into his heart as he saw the two men grin, and then they walked over to the man in a small hurry. There was a small struggle no one else cared about as they carried on their lives, before the male, in the same situation as Danny himself, got dragged away into a nearby alley and out of Danny's sight. Flashes of what happened with those two men the night before reminded Danny of what was probably going to happen to that poor guy, after all, Dylan didn't get his turn, did he? The pain in Danny's back end became more noticeable, as if it knew what Danny was thinking about, and his eyes watered as he let out a pained whimper. 

Danny jumped slightly when George came back and placed a bagel and coffee in front of him, but only a coffee for himself. "Are you alright?" He asked, sitting down. He didn't see Jay and Dylan, and didn't know that Danny was jumpy, not because of last night, but because the two were right across the street. Danny gave a small, weak nod, before looking confused at why he was the only one with a bagel. 

"I couldn't afford another bagel, considering what happened last night I figured you needed it more than me." George gave a kind smile, but Danny was still shocked and didn't want to take food that cost George all his money. 

"N-no, I can't take this...I mean, thank you." Danny didn't know how to deny it, but also show he was grateful. "I can't let you spend your money on me, I'll be fine." Danny explained. 

"Come on, it's fine." George smiled, urging Danny to eat. 

"What if we split it in half?" Danny asked, looking to George with uncertainty. "I'll feel terrible if you don't eat anything." He already felt terrible, but he'd feel worse knowing that this man didn't eat because of him. 

"Sure, as long as you eat." George smiled as Danny ripped the bagel with his hands, not paying attention to the fact that Danny gave him the bigger half. 

They ate in silence for a few minutes, watching as people walked around and some entered the café they were in, not paying attention to the people who became grossed out seeing them there and then leaving. Not noticing the complaints of people who decided to stay and tell the staff that their appetite was being ruined by the two homeless men. "So, how much money do you have now?" Danny asked, he knew he'd feel bad if he heard how much the man opposite him had. But his curiosity made him want to know as he decided that he owed George how much money he spent. 

"I had just enough for the two coffees and the bagel. I'm back at 0 now." George smiled with sad eyes, but he didn't regret spending the money. It was for someone in need. 

"Oh... How much was all of this?" Danny was right, he did feel bad. George had no money now because of him. 

"The coffees were a dollar each and it was only 50 cents for the bagel." George replied. That would seem pretty cheap to a lot of people, it did to Danny too. Still, it would take maybe a week of begging to get that much money... 

"Uhm, excuse me?" A young girl, probably a teenager working part time walked up to the two men, getting their attention. "Can you leave as soon as you're both finished? You're upsetting a lot of our customers." So George and Danny didn't do anything, but it still upset people for them to be sitting and talking. Maybe because George was bruised and roughed up, and the smell of people who hadn't washed in ages was strong...And Danny did smell like sex too if you got close enough... 

The girl walked away and George stood up, taking their empty cups and plate to the staff and handing them over. Danny followed and went with the taller male into the restroom, both cleaning themselves up. 

Standing outside, Danny looked around and waited on his new friend. He was surprised it was taking George longer, but his business was his business. And on his way out, he noticed how much money George had actually spent on their breakfast. It was two dollars for one coffee and three for a bagel, so, Danny owed George exactly that much. He felt bad for George having to throw away and extra two dollars. Danny's eyes were fixed on the other side of the street, ignoring the disgusted looks he was getting. Then he noticed the homeless man from before coming back with Jay and Dylan, the scariest of the two, which if you didn't know, to Danny, was Jay, patted the homeless guy's back. The weaker male flinched in fear at the interaction before he limped back to where he previously was. And fear spiked in Danny's chest again as he suddenly felt the need to vomit, Jay didn't see Danny, but Dylan did. His fearful expression must have been obvious as he saw Dylan's smirk before he followed Jay away. 

"Come on, Danny. Are you feeling a bit better now?" George asked, making Danny jump again as he didn't notice the male until now. The younger male gulped and gave a small nod, following his only friend. But he couldn't help it, he risked a glance back, and he honestly felt as if that was the most afraid he had ever been in his entire life. 

Somehow, Jay and Dylan had managed to cross the road and get not too far behind him. They had stopped, probably when they saw George with him, and had nasty scowls on their faces. Danny felt the pain in his back spike up again and he turned, hurrying his pace to stay close to George. 

He didn't want to get lost while those two were around...


	5. Cold

It was twenty minutes since Danny caught sight of Jay and Dylan, and he was still shaken up. So when George stopped, he was concerned when he noticed the terrified friend. "Are you alright?"

Danny gave a stiff nod, staring at George with eyes he knew meant he wasn't really okay. "Well, meet me back here at 12, okay?" He sighed. He wished he could stay with Danny to make sure he was alright, but he now had no money and he needed to start getting money again. They couldn't stick together because then people would look and think "they've probably got enough money between them."

"I-" Danny wanted to protest and say that he saw the two men that caused him trauma, but he sighed when he realised it was no use. "How will I know what time it is?" Danny didn't have his watch anymore, so he had no idea what time it could possibly be. How would he?

"Look at people's phones, usually they have the time. That's how you'll know what time it is." George explained with a smile. "I'll see you soon."

Danny watched him leave, regretting not fighting to get him to stay. He wanted George's protection. But as soon as he turned around the corner and disappeared from Danny's sight, he felt sad. He already missed the man. Now he was on his own and he had to search for a new begging place. 

He couldn't turn around to where he and George had come from, Jay and Dylan were probably still kicking around there and he didn't want to risk it. He couldn't follow George, because as much as he wanted to be around his newfound friend, he didn't want to appear needy. So, he had only one option, he went down the route that had no excuse for him to avoid it. 

When he sat down in between a McDonald's and a music retail store, he regretted it, because the smell of the restaurant made his stomach growl. It annoyed him, half a bagel was as well as he had eaten in weeks. He didn't want to feel greedy, but his starving stomach made him feel so. But the benefit was that the retail store played their music loud, so he got to enjoy it while he sat there and begged. He loved music, it was what had kept him strong for basically all of his life. 

It wasn't long before Danny started to feel so cold that it seemed as if his face was falling off. He wouldn't be surprised if his nose had turned blue. He couldn't wait until 12, and he really hope that George didn't use that as an excuse to get rid of Danny. He really needed someone to help him keep his head above water right now...


	6. It's Not Much, But...

Danny walked quickly to the area he last saw George, he had ten minutes to get there and he was eager to see the male again. Well, he was moving as quickly as he could with his rear end still feeling like it had been ripped in half. He didn't know, but his brain had automatically associated George with safety after he had saved Danny the night before. If he hadn't been there... Danny didn't want to think about it. George and safety were the same thing to him now, and he wanted to see him again. He wanted to feel safe again. He was surprised when he was five minutes early, and saw George waiting for him with a smile. 

"Hey, Danny!" Danny smiled happily back at the sight of his friend. For the past few hours he had been worried that George had looked at him as a burden and wouldn't show up, happy he had lost him. But that didn't end up being true at all, and Danny was so relieved it wasn't. George had even shown up early when Danny thought he'd have been the early one.

"Hi!" Before he knew it, he had leaped into a hug with George, almost knocking the man over. He let a small laugh at George's surprised huff and the impact, stepping back after a few seconds. "Sorry." He chuckled.

"It's fine." George didn't mind the hug, even if he wasn't the most affectionate of people. "How much money did you make?" Danny sighed unhappily at the question.

"Only 45 cents." Danny held out his hand, showing his change in his hand. "Here." George's eyes widened, he didn't expect that.

"It's not much, but it's a start to paying you back for all the trouble I've caused..."

"Danny, you don't have to pay me back..." Still in a state of shock, George was a bit confused on what to say.

"No, I do. I saw those prices." Danny replied. "You didn't have to lie about how much it cost." He smiled, keeping the money held out.

"I..." George was still stunned and confused, but he knew Danny wouldn't let this go if he didn't accept the money. He sighed and hesitated as he took the small amount of money from Danny's hand. "Okay... Well, there isn't enough money for lunch. We can always chat for a bit before we go back to work?" George suggested, Danny gave a small smile and nodded.

"Sounds good." He agreed.

\---~~~---

There was a while of walking at the end of the day before Danny and George found a place to sleep for the night. But they eventually found a place, and Danny had to say, it was a lot easier to use the restroom and guard your spot when there was two people. Danny gave a sad sigh as he stared at himself in the mirror of the nearby public convenience. He looked a mess. He looked like a mess before, but he looked even worse now. Thanks a lot to Jay and Dylan, because Danny wanted it to be even more difficult than it was already to make money. 

When Danny got back, George had got as comfortable as he could sitting on a doorstep. He had went first, so when Danny came back, neither had to go anywhere until the police eventually moved them. Danny took his space next to George and smiled happily at him, getting a curious look from the stronger male in return. 

A chuckle of surprise left George's throat as Danny suddenly shifted to rest his head on George's chest, in the position they were in the night before, but more relaxed and less afraid. But the pain was still there, of course it was. It had only been around twenty-four hours, if Danny was to guess. The pain in his back seared again and he unintentionally shifted slightly in pain, gaining the attention of George. Danny didn't want to think about what had happened, but he really didn't have any other choice, and everytime he did think about it, the pain he felt spiked up again.

"Are you okay?" George asked with a soft voice, wrapping one arm around Danny. He didn't say anything, but gave a quiet nod as he placed his head back on George's chest. He hoped this pain wouldn't last forever...

Danny gave a small yawn as he closed his eyes, ready to fall asleep. He wondered if he'd be able to sleep as well as he did last night? Last night was okay for him, apart from the fact that he kept waking up in fear every hour or so, thinking that Jay would attack him again if he left himself vulnerable another time. He frowned, he couldn't sleep if he kept thinking about Jay and Dylan. He needed a distraction... 

So he started to sing, it was the first thing that came to his mind as a distraction. So he did it quietly as he listened to George's heartbeat, the older male silently listening with a small smile. And when Danny finished the song George suggested something. 

"You should try singing tomorrow when you're begging." Danny felt unsure about that.

"I don't think that would really work..." Danny sighed, slowly feeling more and more drowsy as George's steady heartbeat soothed him.

"It could." George responded, believing himself that Danny sounded amazing and would definitely gain more if he tried.

"I don't know..." Danny yawned out. George was about to push again, but then he looked to Danny's face and noticed that the male had fallen asleep fully within seconds.

"Goodnight, Danny." He whispered.


	7. Sing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I've been really motivated to write fics lately c: I'm enjoying this a lot more right now.

Danny sat on the floor and looked around at all the busy people walking by with a bored look on his face. He had made next to nothing in money, just like he usually did. He wondered how Johnny was doing, it had been a few weeks since what happened, since Danny had met Johhny. It was amazing to finally have something to smile about, and the smile Johnny brought to Danny's face was one he hadn't worn in the longest time. He always looked forward to their nights and lunch times together, even if they rarely ate that much. 

Johnny was probably doing better than him right now...Or maybe not. Danny remembered him explaining that because he looked so strong and rough in appearance, people thought that he'd survive without the extra change. It was idiotic to think that, everyone living on the streets needed every penny they could get. Danny gave a sigh. He had moved away from the spot next to the fast food place a few days after he knew his stomach wouldn't stop demanding food. 

Danny only wished he could make enough money to feed both Johhny and himself, he had only managed to completely pay Johnny back yesterday. Maybe he should try what his friend suggested on their second night together? Singing. Johnny did say he was good... But he'd seen other homeless people singing and people only ever got annoyed at them for announcing where they were instead of begging quietly. Maybe he should try... But what could he sing? The first thing that came to mind? 

"Sing, sing like there's nobody watching." Danny sang out quietly. He got a glance from a passer-by, they seemed to find it strange that Danny was actually able to talk, as if homeless people were mute as well as invisible. He had to do a lot more than that if he wanted anything out of singing. 

"Sing, sing like there's nobody watching." He sang out the line a little louder. "Sing, sing like there's nobody listening." The more he used his voice, the more attention he got from people around him. Some even stopped and looked with impressed smiles, and it encouraged Danny even more to sing. He really was good, wasn't he? 

"It's times like this I feel I'm on the pavement, it's like my hearts so numb." And people started giving him money the more he kept going. He didn't keep count of how much money he was getting as he started feeling less shy, smiling as he sang at a comfortable volume. 

"Then I grab that book and turn the pages, and see how far I've come." Danny's eyes widened when a twenty dollar bill was held out to him. He wasn't paying that little of attention that he didn't notice when a full note was being given to him instead of loose change. He stared at the person it belonged to with wide eyes, curious and surprised at their appearance as well as their generosity. Their identity was hidden. It was hidden behind a pair of expensive sunglasses and a bandanna over his face that read:" Charlie Scene." Something he assumed wasn't something that you could see in an everyday brand selling bandanas. 

"Thank you, sir..." Danny gratefully took the money. The man nodded at Danny, with a smile that Danny couldn't see, and carried on his way to wherever he had to go. Danny kept singing with a wide smile on his face, George was right all along.

\---~~~---

"How much money did you make today?" Johnny asked, a wide smile covering his face at the sight of his friend. 

"Thirty-four dollars just about." Danny grinned, proud of himself for earning so much money, and all because he chose to sing. George made a good call, and Danny should have tired singing a lot sooner. 

"That's because you're so irresistibly handsome that people can't help but give you their money." Johnny joked. "It's crazy that no one has whisked you away into their million dollar mansion and life of fame and glamour."

"Maybe, but I only have eyes for you." Danny winked at Johnny as he walked past. "I'd take being homeless with you than the life of luxury. Lunch on me?"

"It would have to be. I only made three dollars." Johnny said with a goofy grin, happy when he made Danny laugh.

"So what did you do to make thirty in one morning?" Johnny asked.

"I took your advice of singing." Danny shrugged, walking into a small, quiet café with Johnny following.

"I told you singing would work! " Johnny said.

"You should try rapping." Danny suggested.

"Sure." Johnny said with sarcasm lacing his voice. "Like that would work."


	8. Generosity

Danny sand loudly and happily as he kept being given money from people. Happy that his singing wasn't a one-off thing that only got money one day and then never again. People seemed to really like his voice, and if it put food in both his and Danny's stomachs, he'd sing until his voice died.

It was almost time for his lunch break with George when he was handed another twenty dollar bill by the same man from before, wearing his sunglasses and bandana once again. Danny gave a grin of recognition to the man and took the note, neat and unfolded as if it just came out of a cash machine just like the last bill had looked.

"Thank you." Danny felt grateful again, still amazed that this guy cared so much about him that he would give so much money.

"You're welcome." The man smiled and went on his way, Danny watching as he left with a wide smile. Singing once again.

\---~~~---

On his way to meet George at their regular area, Danny stopped when he recognised another homeless person. On the floor and shaking with scared, traumatised eyes. It was the same male from that one morning when Danny and George first had their breakfast together, the same one that got dragged away by Jay and Dylan. 

"Hey?" Danny spoke gently, getting the attention of the shaking male.

"What do you want?" The man snarled, unhappy and grumpy.

"I just..." Danny was surprised at that reaction. "I saw you a few days ago being dragged away by two men, Jay and Dylan? I wanted to-"

"Look, I don't ever want to hear there names again, okay?" The male looked to Danny with scared, broken eyes. "Now, I'll ask again, what do you want?"

"I know what it's like to be... hurt by them." The male gave him a curious frown, not expecting him to say that. "So, here, ten dollars." Danny felt bad that he had to give ten dollars in change to the man, but his wide eyes stared in amazement at Danny.

"I- Thanks!" The man gave a wide smile, the money making the male feel a lot better about himself. Danny smiled happily, feeling proud of himself for being able to help someone suffering like he was.

"You're welcome." Danny replied, leaving afterwards with a skip in his step as he went to his usual meeting place where George would be. Just the thought of seeing that man made Danny's day so much more better as his smile widened. 


	9. Roughed Up

Danny was still smiling when he got to the usual meeting area he and George usually met at. But it faltered when he didn't see George there, usually he was there first...He stood around for a little while before George finally appeared. A wide smile cast over Danny's face, but then quickly fell into a frown of concern when he noticed George's slight limp he tried to hide. His face was slightly battered and his lips were a little bloody. It was obvious something had happened.

"George? What happened?" At the sound of Danny's voice a soft grin reached the injured male's face. He found it adorable that the male cared. 

"It was nothing. I'm fine." George lied, cringing as he put too much pressure on his hurt leg.

"You're not fine..." Danny stared at the male with worried brown eyes, silently pleading George to tell him what had happened.

"I am, I am." George quickly replied, standing up straight even though it hurt. "I just tripped down a few stairs. Concrete. Shit hurts." Suspicion added onto Danny's appearance. He didn't believe what George said. And he wanted to keep prying until the friend told him the truth, but what if that pushed him further away from it? Maybe he should keep quiet about it. 

" I made thirty dollars, but I gave ten to someone on my way back. What do you want for lunch?" Danny sighed. He didn't want to change the subject, he wanted to know what actually happened. But George probably wouldn't talk, probably tell him not to worry. But Danny worried. He worried a lot.

\---~~~---  
By night Danny was still bothered about George's injuries. He didn't look okay, and after lunch, he went away and came back late, and in an even worse state. So when they had found a place to rest, Danny couldn't help but bring it up again. 

"George, are you sure you're okay? You're all bloody and bruised and I can tell that's not from falling down stairs." Danny's eyes focused on the details of George's face, waiting for a reaction.

"Well that's what happened?" George didn't even sound convinced by himself at his words.

"It can't be. You don't get a red hand print on your throat from falling down stairs." Shit, he had got him there. What could he say back to that?

"I... Got into a small fight..." George admitted, he didn't have to say anything more than that.

"It doesn't look like it was small." Danny frowned. George gave a small smile, he knew Danny wouldn't let this go so easily until he gathered every single detail there was to know about what happened. But George couldn't handle seeing Danny's face so scared and broken again, so he did the first thing that came to mind that he knew could keep Danny quiet.

Danny's eyes were wide with shock as he stared at George, not expecting him to suddenly move and press his lips to his own. It couldn't even fully process in Danny's head before George planted another kiss. He felt his neck and ears turn slightly red as his brain figured out was going on, melting into the continuous pecks of affection George was giving him. The older male grinned against Danny's lips as he felt the smaller male shyly kissing back. 

Danny's heartbeat picked up its pace as he felt a hand be placed on his hip and pull him closer. His eyes closing as he felt he wanted more, and it seemed George did too. It felt good to be this close with his friend. Could he really call George a friend if he was enjoying this? It was a friendship, but there was more. But when George's hand moved down from his hip and tugged on his trousers, Danny's eyes snapped open and widened in fear at the touch, whimpering before pulling away from George and curling up into a scared ball. He couldn't look at George, feeling ashamed of himself. Instead he stared down to the ground with sadness. 

"I'm... Not ready for that..." Danny admitted, tears brimming his eyes slightly as his brain reminded him of Jay. George suddenly felt irritated with himself, of course that was too far. He shouldn't have done that. It was all going well until he touched Danny's trousers... Now the male was hurting again. He didn't want that. So he slowly moved over to Danny and pulled him into his arms, holding him into a gentle hug and kissing the top of his head. 

"We've got time." George offered a smile to the smaller male as his dark eyes looked up at him, glistening with sadness from the memories he was facing. But there was also a small admiration for George too for everything he had done to help Danny.

"We do." Danny rested his head on George's chest. "I'm glad I have a friend like you." Friend. To both of them, something felt wrong about that word. George smiled to himself. They were definitely more.


	10. Dreams and Fantasies

Danny happily sang the morning after, he hadn't been creatively singing lyrics in a long time and today was no different. But today was different as he softly started singing love songs, something about last night with George had improved everything for him. Suddenly being homeless didn't seem so bad, now that he had met George. But he still wasn't one hundred percent sure, he wanted to know where he and George now stood.

He smiled happily when Charlie showed up again, staring at him curiously through his sunglasses as he sang another song. 

"A love song? Strange..." Charlie told him, curious about what Danny was singing. Or what made him sing that song.

"Not as strange as the man wearing sunglasses in winter." Danny joked, smiling.

"I have a reason for these glasses." Charlie spoke, grinning.

"And I have a reason for singing sappy love songs."

"That's fair." Charlie admitted, pulling out some dollar bills and giving two to Danny. One was a fifty dollar bill and the other was a twenty, both looked like they had just came out of a cash machine once again. Danny stared with wide eyes.

"You're slowly giving me more and more money..." Danny was confused as he stared at the money, but when he looked back up, the man was gone. So he placed the money in his pocket with a smile on his face and he kept singing songs as he gained money.

\---~~~---

" You've made so much money over the past few weeks." George grinned. It was night again, and they were talking about what they had earned. Danny had made the most once again, of course. They were looking for a place to sleep, but neither of them were really looking. More like, aimlessly walking and talking about whatever came to mind, neither of them were even that tired. 

"I know, we've almost got enough for rent for a month." Danny said. George chuckled.

"What if we keep saving up? And eventually we could share an apartment, both of us getting jobs by wearing clean clothes?" George suggested, just coming up with random things. 

"What jobs would we get?" Danny chuckled. "If it hasn't worked for us before, why would it now?"

"You could be a singer. A famous one in a band that makes so much money we end up being in a millionaire's mansion." George joked, making Danny smile.

"Yeah, right. I'm pretty sure I'm not that good, George." Danny smiled.

"No, you're better than good. You could have a music career, easy." George said, extremely sure about Danny's chances. Danny felt his face redden slightly at the compliment. 

"Do you think we could make it that far?" Danny was happy. And he was sure George was too. Talking about lives they could have felt amazing, and as long as they had each other, Danny felt like it was possible.

"Of course. If we keep saving up money, we could have a home, food, clothes. We could finally be safe from everything." George grinned, stopping his walk to face Danny.

"I like that. What if we went on a road trip too? Once we were settled. I love road trips, they always looked so fun!" Danny chuckled, staring up into the male's blue eyes as his own shined with happiness and excitement. He desperately wanted that to be true. He wanted it to be real life.

"You love them?" George didn't really know, he'd never been on a road trip. But it sounded fun, he couldn't deny.

"As much as I love you." Danny surprised himself with that comment just as much as George was. His face showing exactly how shocked he was, but Danny's expression, even though he was surprised with himself, stayed the way it was. He forced himself to appear confident.

"And how much is that, now?" George grinned once he had recovered from the initial shock. Danny's smile widened at the question as he took a step closer, pressing a kiss to George's lips.

"That is how much." Danny whispered, staying close to George. The taller male smiled down, butterflies fluttering in his chest at the interaction as the two connected again in another kiss. And then another, and more followed becoming progressively more passionate. The snow slowly falling and gently landing on them and the street around them as the held each other close.

"Being anywhere with you sounds perfect..." George grinned, his eyes clouded with adoration for the smaller male.

"Then let's do it, let's save up money for an apartment. Let's finally get our perfect life." Danny smiled dreamily, leaning onto George as happiness pulsed through his body along with his heartbeat. He knew where his relationship with George stood now, and his life was finally turning in the direction he dreamed of. And he wouldn't dream of spending his life with anyone else other than George.

To Danny, everything felt amazing, and with Christmas coming soon, he hoped he could get enough money to have an apartment for him and George by then. He just had to keep singing.

"And Danny?" George's voice sounded amazing while Danny was falling asleep, he couldn't hear the tone of seriousness in the taller males voice as he hummed, showing he as listening. "Don't you ever let me go."


	11. Where Are You?

Danny's eyes slowly opened as he cuddled further into his warm pillow. His warm pillow was named George. A smile adorned his face at the memory of the night before, where they both suddenly became committed to creating a better life for themselves, and while that, committing to each other. The snow had heavily fallen since then and now Danny had a thick layer of snow that dampened his clothes, but it didn't dampen his mood. The snow was beautiful, and he had George. Everything was okay as long as he had George with him.

The taller male woke up quickly after Danny, and stretched as Danny willed himself to get up, even if he wanted to stay snuggled with George for longer. He had work. 

"Good morning." Danny gave a small kiss before he got up. Stretching too as George gathered up all his stuff and soon they were ready to go. The man gave a sleepy smile at the kiss and mumbled a tired "Mornin'" back.

\---~~~---

Danny hadn't been this happy in a really long time, and it showed in his singing. He had made a lot of money by lunch time, even if the bandana wearing male hadn't shown up yet. He had still managed to make twenty dollars, and he was proud of himself for it. Really, why hadn't he tried singing a lot sooner?

On his way to meet George for lunch, his mind went to what they had talked about the night before. Having an apartment together sounded amazing, both males having jobs that could support them. Who knows, maybe they could adopt a kid at some point along the road? Danny blushed as he realised he had gotten ahead of himself, he didn't even know what George felt about kids. Danny just always wanted a family, the idea of growing old with someone as his kids grew and created their own lives, possibly grandchildren after that, it all sounded perfect. Danny wanted that life, he hoped George would too.

With a small bounce, Danny had a wide smile as he patiently waited for George to show at their usual meeting area. Happily dreaming about the family life he always wanted, at first he thought he wanted that with a woman. But now George was in his life, he couldn't think of having a family with anyone other than that male. It would be a long time away, but it didn't stop him from wanting that life, and until it came true, he could dream about it as much as he wanted. 

As time went on, tiny shards of worry and concern dug themselves into Danny's heart. George hadn't shown up yet, did he get into another fight? And as time went further on past that, from being a few minutes late to a good few hours, Danny became extremely worried. George hadn't shown up at all. Did he forget? No, he couldn't have. Then what?

Danny felt strange about leaving a little while after that, accepting that George hadn't shown up for some reason. The fact that he didn't, showed Danny just how dependent on the male he had become... And it hurt him not to see him that lunch time. But he had a gut feeling that something bad had happened, that had nothing to do with falling down stairs... Maybe he'd see him at the end of the day? Yeah, that could be it. Maybe George was sacrificing lunch breaks so he could make more money for them, and at the end of the day they'd meet. That had to be it, right? Right? 

\---~~~---

Danny was wrong. Not only did the bandana dude not show up this time, which meant he didn't make as much as usual, but George still wasn't at their meeting area at the end of the day. It had only been a few minutes since he got there, so maybe George was just a few minutes behind? Maybe? He just had to wait a couple more minutes.

But then a couple more minutes became half an hour, and half an hour became an hour. Danny could tell by glancing at phones, like George had told him. Another hour went by and the sun had started going down, and after that, another hour and it was dark with only street lights and busy people doing Christmas shopping. There was no George. Where was he? Danny's eyes watered as he tightly closed them. If George didn't show he'd have to find a place to sleep... On his own... Danny's jaw clenched as his heart painfully beat, every part of him refusing to believe that George would suddenly not show up. Especially after last night. What if George changed his mind?

No. He wouldn't even torture himself with that. George had to show up, he had to. And Danny would wait... One more hour passed by and Danny's heart cried as he accepted that maybe George wasn't going to show up... Slowly, Danny cleared the snow out from the ground below him and sat down. Just one more hour, one more hour and if George didn't show up then... 

Danny's eyes watered again, he curled over and buried his face between his legs, trying to hold himself together. It was only one day. Maybe George would show up tomorrow? Yeah? He had to. And when he did, Danny would chew him out for making him so sick with worry.

Danny gave a faint smile. And in a few years time, when they had a home, maybe even married. They'd look back on this day and George would laugh in lighthearted amusement while Danny blushed in embarrassment at overreacting just because George hadn't shown up for a day. Yeah, that was it! 

George would show up tomorrow...


	12. Lonely

Police officers kicked at Danny slightly, waking him up from his curled up sleep. "Come on, boy. Time to get up."

Danny groaned before opening his eyes, he had fallen asleep waiting on George. And it hurt him as he remembered waiting hours only for the male not to turn up. Danny stretched a little and got up, the police only left him alone when they were sure he was walking away. Not that he would fight them anyway... 

Not seeing George had weakened him and ruined every will he had. And he hoped that the male would show up soon, maybe at lunch he'd be there? He gave a small smile. If he showed up at lunch, Danny would definitely make sure to chew him out for making him so worried. And he better explain himself and have a good excuse for this. 

And then in a few years time, they'd look back and laugh at all this. He remembered his thoughts from last night, eventually, he'd definitely look back and laugh at this with George.

\---~~~---

No earnings. No singing. No Charlie Scene. No George. By lunch, Dany felt his heart slowly cracking, as if it was close to breaking. He was too worried to sing, so he gained no money. And at lunch, George hadn't shown up. It took a few hours of waiting for Danny to accept that, and on his slow walk to his begging place he wondered why he hadn't started looking for George. Maybe he could find him?

Danny hesitated at his usual place where he would sit, people glaring at him for not only being filthy, but for standing in their way. He decided to keep walking, he was done begging for now. He'd go to look for George, and he'd find him. He was sure of it. 

\---~~~---

Danny kept walking, and didn't stop even when his feet hurt. He only realised when he stopped at a traffic light that it had gotten dark. He'd had his eyes focused on looking at people, trying to identify George, he didn't notice what the time was.

And when he crossed the road and took a few steps forward, down the street, he nearly tripped and fell. He frowned at the cause and recognised the familiar sign of the bar. He had money... And he could use a drink. And if the bartender was there, he could vent to the guy about what was bothering him, couldn't he? He needed the break after spending so much time walking.

The warmth of the bar helped Danny feel better, finally out of the snow. The heat quickly wrapped itself around him like a blanket, comforting him from the harsh outdoors. A football game was on and a lot of men were cheering, laughing, enjoying it being played on the screens around, some drunk enough to be singing. They were all having fun, but Danny couldn't join in. He was on his own.

Danny took a seat on a barstool and smiled softly at Matt, the bartender who had listened to him and seemed happy to see him again. 

"I haven't seen you in a while, how goes?" Matt asked, cleaning a pint glass.

"It's gone. Can I have a drink?" Danny pulled out some change for a pint of beer. The bartender smiled and took the money, his curly hair turning with his head as he went to make a drink, leaving Danny alone for a few minutes.

He liked the atmosphere of the bar, it had warm colours and heaters made it cozy. A fireplace burned near him and Danny found himself suddenly hypnotised by the flames as they flickered. His eyes never left them as he was left to think. Where could George be? Maybe Matt had seen him?

... What if George really had just gotten sick of him and left? Tears slightly welled in Danny's eyes. He didn't want to believe that, he wouldn't. He loved George. And George loved him, he was sure of it...

What if he didn't?

"Here you go." Danny turned back to the bartender, surprised when a bit of toast, with melted ham and cheese on it, accompanied the beer he paid for.

"Wha-" Danny was confused, but he was quiet when the bartender waved his hand.

"It's on me. You look like you haven't ate a thing all day." Matt smiled, moving away from Danny to take the order of another man while Danny enjoyed his food. He forgot how nice that man was, he smiled.

The food made him feel better, and the drink helped his senses a little. The game on the TV got his attention and it distracted him for a few hours. He didn't really know how it was going for a while, but when a happy man who maybe had one-too-many drinks patted his back with a laugh and cheered "We won!" Danny figured that the game went well. He smiled to the man as he walked off, singing sloppily with his friends. They won. It looked like everyone was winning except for Danny right now.

"Why so glum, chum?" Matt walked to Danny, cringing at his sentence. "Eh... I thought that would sound cool..." It really wasn't, but it made Danny's sad face leave for a small moment as he smirked in amusement.

"I made a... Friend while I was gone, he's missing now... I don't even know where he is..." Danny sighed, looking to the male as the bartender leaned and placed a supportive hand on Danny's shoulder.

"You'll find him." Matt smiled.

"Yeah..." Danny wasn't so sure. Anything could have happened to George...


	13. Nobody's Watching

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I changed the ending of chapter 10 a little, this chapter will make a little more sense if you look back on that. It's not completely necessary though. Enjoy! c:

Danny walked aimlessly, his search for George hadn't stopped. He only rested when he really had to, and it had been a week since the male had disappeared. Danny couldn't find George, and he felt like he never would. It had been a tiring search, and he'd made sure to check almost everywhere he knew George could be.

What was the point? Danny felt like giving up. He really did. But he had felt like that a few times, and every time he did, he heard George's voice in his head. Telling him about the life they would have together. Danny just had to keep holding on.

'Don't you ever let me go.' Danny remembered what George had said the night before he disappeared. He didn't want to let go. But it was hard when he couldn't find the male anywhere... The least he could do was try and earn some money for their apartment since he couldn't find George, right? He sat down at his familiar place where he begged while George was still near.

He dreaded to know what could have happened to Johnny and where his imagination took him wasn't too nice... He hadn't sang anything since Johnny had disappeared. Maybe he should try again, but he couldn't think of anything to sing that would be happy or in the festive spirit...

"Someone left the door open." Danny started. His eyes were dull as he played with a loose thread of Johnny's oversized jeans. "Who left me outside." He didn't notice the money that was being given as his eyes watered. 

"I'm bent, I'm not broken." He didn't notice the familiar person standing a distance away from him. "Come live in my life..."

"All the words left unspoken, are the pages I write." He didn't notice the crowd who listened around him either. "On my knees and I'm hoping, that someone holds me tonight." Danny struggled. He couldn't sing. It hurt too much...

Then out of nowhere a fifty dollar was held out for him to take. Danny glanced up. It was the man with the bandanna again. He gave the hidden man a sad smile. 

"Thank you. I'm sorry my lyrics aren't really that happy..." Danny apologised.

"It's better than all that Christmas shit." Danny looked at the man with a small smirk of amusement. That was the first time Danny heard him speak. He was gone after Danny took the money. Danny sang the lyrics again, louder and more motivated.

"Don't you ever let me go." Danny sang, he could swear that he heads Johnny singing it back to him...

Then another clean fifty dollar was handed to him, he stared up at the owner of the money and saw the same male. "You deserve more money than that." He said. Danny took the money. "Thank you so much..." Danny couldn't believe the generosity of this guy, but he wouldn't question it. He'd take it and be grateful. He almost had enough money for one month's rent, George and Danny almost had a place! "Don't you ever let me go..." Danny sang, feeling slightly better. He just needed to find George, get a little more money, and then they'd have a home. Finally.


	14. George?

Danny finished the last mouthful of his drink with a groan, another week had gone by, and he definitely had enough money for rent now. The problem? George still hadn't shown up anywhere.

"Still no sign of your friend?" Matt asked, cleaning a cup. He seemed to always be cleaning glasses. Danny could clean a glass. He could be a bartender if he cleaned himself up enough.

"No..." Danny had lost a lot of hope over the days. He didn't know where George was, and he felt like he'd never know. Maybe George did change his mind and leave? Maybe Danny was being an idiot in searching for him when he'd never see him again.

"Maybe you should go out and look again?" Danny gave Matt a look that made him go quiet. "Maybe there's somewhere you haven't looked yet..." Matt suggested, not wanting to upset the man as he gave him another free meal.

"I've looked everywhere, the only place I haven't looked is..." Danny's voice faded out. Matt didn't know about what Jay and Dylan did, Danny was pretty sure that Matt didn't even know who those two were. The only place he hadn't looked was that alleyway were he was brutally violated... He couldn't bare to even go near that place...

"Well, maybe you should look there?" Matt suggested, taking Danny's plate and glass once he was finished.

"I guess..." Danny didn't want to go there, but what if Matt was right? What if the only place he hadn't went to was where George was? He didn't have to go into the alley, did he? He could walk by it. "I'll see you later, Matt." 

"See you later, Danny. Happy Christmas!" Matt smiled, continuing his job once Danny walked out the door. That was right. The twenty-fifth. It was Christmas Day... Maybe Santa could give Danny his George back? Doubtful. Matt had already explained how the bar was where he lived, hand his own place above it. And it was closed for Christmas, but he was nice to Danny and he appreciated it. But no amount of kindness could fix the whole in his heart that was left for George. Danny missed him, and he wanted him back. 

Danny stared down at his feet with sad eyes, he missed Johnny more than he ever thought he would. He didn't feel as safe without the stronger male there... And he knew all the best places to rest that no one else would take... Too bad he didn't take the time to remember where they were when he could have. The phones Danny saw earlier today let him know it was Christmas day. Another Christmas he would spend alone, he wouldn't even find a place to stay this Christmas it seemed. He could go back to Matt, but he was pretty sure the male was gone now, to spend Christmas with his family. 

Then Danny found a place he recognised, he shivered at the memory of what happened in that alleyway. He wasn't going in there again. He was about to keep walking when he heard a strange noise that caught his attention, coming from the alley. His eyes narrowed as he looked down the area, his eyes widened in surprise when he saw a pale, limp hand on the ground, letting out the tiniest of gasps. He walked towards it. His eyes widened as the person the hand belonged to was revealed.

"George?" Danny's voice came out broken as he saw the man he cared so much about. The man had cuts and bruises all over his body, he was collapsed on the ground and it didn't look like he was breathing. Again, Danny started crying, like he never stopped, as he backed away from the body of his friend.

Then he froze in fear as he heard a voice he recognised, a voice he never ever wanted to hear again, but he could recognise the sound of Jorel's voice anywhere. His heart raced as he remained frozen in place like a deer caught in headlights.

 

"Merry Christmas, Danny."


	15. Out Of Breath

He should never have come down this alleyway. Jorel's entertained laughter at Danny's fear was all it took for Danny to snap out of his frozen stance and turn to face the dangerous male. Dylan next to him with a grin, also finding Danny's horror funny. The man whimpered as he took a step back from the men and towards George. Why did they do this? What reason would they have?

"W-why?"

"We weren't finished with you." Jorel grinned evilly after he had collected himself. "Dylan, here, never got his shot with you." He laughed. Danny swallowed the lump in his throat as he looked at the man Jorel was referring to, seeing the hunger in his eyes.

"And George was perfect bait, took you fucking long enough to find him." Dylan spoke up. "Besides, this would have happened to him either way. He had a debt to pay."

"I might have another shot with you after." Jorel considered out loud and Danny swallowed another lump that had formed in his throat. Was he really about to not fight for himself again? He took another hesitant step back as the two males took a step forward, and he nearly fell as he tripped over George's body. His eyes watered as he looked down at the man, his heart screaming in agony as he looked down at the male's unusually pale face, a lot of blood covering him...

Danny yelped as soon as he looked back to the two males, narrowly dodging Dylan's sudden leap towards him. He stared with wide and scared eyes at Jorel as the man viciously growled, moving towards him quickly like predator to its prey. Danny didn't really know what happened next, it went by in a blur as he gathered as much bravery as he had in his soul and ran towards the male, roughly pushing Jorel into Dylan hard enough that they both ended up falling on top of George's once living body.

With a small stumble at the interaction, Danny didn't stop moving, he sprinted out of the alleyway as quickly as he could and didn't stop running as he swerved his way through the busy streets of Los Angeles, convinced that Jorel and Dylan were hot on his trail.

At first he was able to run fast, his breathing rapid as he refused to stop. Adrenaline pulsed through his veins as he never stopped moving, no matter how many people he bumped into. He had to keep running, and he never once dared to look behind him to see if the two men were following. He just kept going, even after the adrenaline wore off slightly and his footsteps became lazy, like an out of breath sprinter who was just asked to do long distance. Danny stopped when he came across a train station. 

He gave an anxious look around him, surveying the area before he sprinted across the road and into the train station. Even if he didn't see Jorel or Dylan out there, he couldn't shake off the feeling that they were close by, maybe watching him and toying with him. Letting him think he managed to get away when he didn't, but that paranoia would be what kept him alive as he quickly bought a train ticket and hurried through to the ride he had bought.

Danny was almost fainting from loss of breath once he sat down in the train. He hadn't ran like that in the longest time, and it showed. His body ached from being pushed too much as the train slowly started moving, people giving him weird looks as he tried to help himself. His heart beat hard in his chest as he let his head fall back onto the plastic silicone of the chair, closing his eyes and opening his mouth to let more air fill his lungs.

Jorel and Dylan. They wouldn't stop now until they found Danny. That shove and run to protect himself was like challenging them. And Danny could easily tell that those two loved challenges. Why were they so dedicated to killing George if it wasn't for the fun of seeing if they could?

George. Danny suddenly sat up, his breath mostly caught back up. His eyes opened as he stared out the train window, now he wasn't in danger what he saw could fully process in his brain. George was dead... All that time he didn't appear... Danny's eyes watered, and he didn't even care what looks he was given. He let them fall.

George was dead. The sentence kept repeating itself in his head and it hurt more each time. George was... Dead. There was no more living together, no more fixing their lives for the better together... No family they could ever have, no marriage or anything Danny had let himself dream about... They wouldn't even be able to look back on the day George went missing and laugh... Danny wouldn't ever laugh at that now as he let his tears flow freely out of his eyes. Letting them become little sobs of pain as his heart wailed. Nothing they had talked about would ever happen now. 

George was dead. How could George be dead? Danny loved him so much... And he was gone. That family he dreamed of having, growing old with George, gone... He placed his face in his hands as he shaked, his crying never stopping for anything as his heart felt like it had been repeatedly stabbed and was still getting hurt by the blade. The same sentence yelling itself in Danny's head, louder and louder. George was dead. 

And the smallest of voices in Danny's head was the distinct one of George's, quietly whispering at the back of his head. 

"Don't you ever let me go." Now Danny had to let go. His love wasn't good enough. He wasn't good enough. 


	16. Room

Danny let out a sigh as he stood up and made his way out of the train, now in a different part of Los Angeles where he was sure Jay and Dylan couldn't be. But they were probably trying to find him now, hunting him down. Danny could only wonder how long it would take them to find him, all he knew is that they would. And when they did, he'd probably run again. It worked the first time, so he would keep going with that until it stopped working.

His tears had dried up by the time the train had came to a far enough stop that Danny decided to leave. His heart hurt, it felt hard to breathe because of both emotional and physical pain, it felt like he had two ton weights on his shoulders and he barely had enough energy to walk. He needed to rest. 

By some random chance of luck there was a crappy, badly looked after motel that was still working even on Christmas day. It was strange, but Danny didn't really mind. He needed a bed, and the money for an apartment... Well, he didn't give a fuck about that anymore. Danny sighed as he walked into the small run-down place, a grumpy old woman sat at the reception desk.

"Can I have a room?"

"Twenty dollars a night." The woman grumbled, glaring at Danny as if she didn't want to put up with his shit. She probably didn't, and Danny didn't mind. He had one hundred and eighty dollars, thanks to that generous guy who always gave him money for his singing. 

"Here's eighty." Danny muttered, pulling out the notes and handing the lady what he was willing to spend.

"Here's a key. 4 nights, don't lose it." The woman growled, taking the money and swapping it for a key that read '203.' Danny gave a quiet sigh and made his way to the room, struggling with the badly fitting lock on the door before he managed to get in, shutting the door after.

So, the motel looked bad, but they put efforts into their bedrooms.The walls had been painted a clean, cream colour and all the furniture had a mahogany colour, even if Danny was willing to bet it wasn't actually mahogany. There was even a balcony-like window that poked out of the build, put an armchair there, and it would be an inspiring place to write...if he was a writer, that is. Even the bathroom looked okay.

Danny sighed. He had this for four nights, so he may as well have made the most of it, and he could start by washing himself. Even if he felt ready to collapse on the bed and sleep forever to forget about the lingering pain in his chest, he still felt suffocated. And once he was out of the shower he barely recognised himself, with that thick layer of dirt no longer on his body, his skin slightly red from him furiously trying to get all of it off, he looked better than he felt. And he smelled nice too, like roses.

It felt okay to be clean, but Danny couldn't feel as amazing as he probably usually would have in any other situation. He couldn't feel good about anything as he turned to face the neatly looked after bed, sleeping would help him. He hoped it could help him, he wanted to forget, even for just a few hours. After all his running he didn't even have enough energy to get comfortable on the mattress, he just fell onto it. Out like a light. 

But his sleep didn't last long, as suddenly he heard banging in the room next to him. It slowly woke him up, and he growled unhappily at the sound, wishing he was a heavy sleeper. He used to be, years ago, but being homeless quickly transformed you into a light sleeper instead, so that banging was loud enough to properly wake him up. He scowled at the wall it was coming from, soundproofing would be something appreciated, even if it added an extra ten dollars. The sound of a masculine voice and a feminine voice moaning together suddenly accompanied the rhythm of banging and Danny's anger quickly faded away.

His eyes were wide, disturbed as he stared at the wall the noise was coming from. Whoever was in that other room was having sex... Fucking. Gross. That's all Danny thought. Then again, his experience with sex was exactly pleasant...Danny shuddered, he'd only done it a few times and each time never felt that good... The latest was traumatising. So maybe that was why he didn't understand the need... 

Danny cringed as the noises barely ever stopped, and he had nothing to block the sounds out. And there was definitely no way he was going to be able to sleep with that going on. He actually preferred sleeping on the streets to this, surprisingly. He groaned unhappily as he covered his head with a pillow, the soft material not doing anything to protect his ears... 

What a perfect Christmas this was.


	17. Hello Neighbour

Danny sighed unhappily as he lifted the pillow from his head, it was daylight now. Eventually the people fucking in the room next door had stopped, and Danny had managed to get a little sleep, but he was still exhausted. More exhausted than he would have been if he had slept on the streets.

The man's eyes were droopy as he stood up, stretching slightly. He really didn't feel like going out today... Why would he? To beg for money? No, he deserved even the smallest of breaks. He'd stay in this room today, maybe catch up on missed sleep. He knew that today would be really busy, a lot of people running around for sales, they wouldn't give much to homeless people when they wanted to buy everything they wanted at a cheaper price.

On the desk of the room was a kettle with two cups, some packets of coffees, teas, hot chocolate. He supposed he could have one of those, maybe live on them. They would do. A TV sat next to them, and Danny became curious, trying to find a remote, but finding none. It didn't matter though because as soon as he turned it on using the button, he flicked it back off as the kettle boiled. He couldn't be bothered with TV, years without one made him feel uninterested in what it could give him. So he just sat in silence, looking out the window with exhausted eyes, sipping his coffee slowly, which was really just flavoured boiling water that didn't taste like coffee at all.

For a while Danny was fine, watching the busy people and cars passing by his window, walking into shops. From where he sat he could see a lot of stores, a lot of them were selling clothes, and he liked what a few of the mannequins were wearing. New clothes would be nice, since his were dirty and still smelled like... George... Danny's eyes flickered from the clothes being sold down to the half empty cup of coffee. They were George's clothes, not his. Across from him, they were folded up, looking gross and damp because they hadn't been washed. Could he afford to wash them? They'd lose George's scent. Danny's eyes watered slightly. He didn't want to let George go... 

Soon enough Danny's stomach grumbled, twisting in pain from hunger. The meals Matt kept giving him were something his stomach had gotten used to, and now he was too far away for that. A shaky breath left Danny's mouth. He did see a vending machine in the lobby, maybe he could get something from there? Even something small to settle his stomach and stop it from loudly asking for food. Danny's eyes were still droopy as he stood up, maybe food would give him energy too.

Danny sighed as he placed some change in the vending machine, wearing George's clothes again. The fact that they were dirty made people disgusted as they walked past him, and the receptionist, different to the one from yesterday, glared at him. They obviously didn't like the fact the Danny was staining their reputation, he sighed as the chocolate bar he bought fell out. He needed a comfort food, and chocolate was his best bet. It was weird though, as he noticed a few people with expensive cameras wandering around the lobby too. Some at the window with their cameras looking through the window. Weird. Danny could only think that, but he also didn't like it. He didn't like all the cameras, even if he knew they most likely weren't for him... Then who would they be for? 

Walking up the stairs back to his floor and his room he frowned as he overheard a woman's voice. "Look, your show was tonight, I can only push it back to tomorrow. You have to do it then or else we wasted our time coming here." Danny frowned as he got closer, glaring harshly at the woman as she talked to a male at the door of a motel room. They were Danny's noisy neighbours. He didn't have enough courage to speak up about it as he slowly walked past, he'd just make sure they noticed his glare.

But his glare disappeared when he saw the male the woman was talking to, his light blue eyes, though tired, playful and in a good mood, gentle and amused as he stared down at the woman. A handsome smile accompanied them as the male let out a light laugh, the sound slightly lifting Danny's mood and making him forget why he was so unhappy in the first place. 

"Relax, tomorrow is fine. I just need the day to myself, I'm exhausted after your little Christmas present." Danny heard the man speak, making the woman giggle.

"Also, someone figured out that you're here and spread the word. Be careful if you plan to go out." The woman said, walking away after. The man smiling as she walked away, and then noticing Danny, who had stopped to stare at the male without realising he had. The man's joyous eyes lingered on Danny for a moment before he smiled wider and gave the homeless male a wink, lifting his hands and wrapping a piece of black and white fabric around the lower part of his face, a bandana. And it was a bandana that Danny recognised. 

The same bandana that had the name "Charlie Scene" printed on it.


	18. Forgot What It Feels Like

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Literally just Danny buying clothes, because he deserves nice things after everything I've put him through c:

Danny gave a small groan the morning after his whole day inside this small room, the longer he spent here the more problems he noticed. But he still only had one major problem, he could live with the rest of them. But that man, the one who lifted his mood by simply looking at him, had decided to fuck another girl again last night. Maybe it was the same one. That lack of sleep hurt Danny's head and if it wasn't for the warmth and smallest slice of safety he felt in this room, he would have wandered back out into the streets.

Creating another watery coffee, that, like the last one, wasn't very good. Danny looked out the window with tired eyes, seeing a sale in one of the clothing stores he had looked at yesterday. That sale sign was there then as well, but Danny was too exhausted, too hurt and upset with the world to go and see what he could afford. He should do that today. New clothes would be good, especially since the ones he was wearing weren't only filthy, but George lingered all over them. His scent provided comfort to the man, but it also filled his heart with pain as he knew he'd never see that male anymore. 

Tears brimmed Danny's eyes once again as he thought about it. They were so happy, they had a plan, and George was alive and well. He was as well as a homeless person could be. And then all of a sudden, he was a bloody, limp mess on the floor of the alleyway were he was raped. It was unfair. Danny became fed up with himself as one small tear fell into his coffee, he was always crying. It started to annoy him. So, he threw the drink out and placed George's clothes back on his body, counting the money he had and leaving to go to the clothes store he had noticed.

Danny looked around with tired, wide brown eyes. He felt out of place in such a fancy place filled with designer clothes, advertising how much money was taken off them to convince people that they were getting their money's worth. Even in a sale, Danny really didn't feel like he could afford much in the store, it would wipe out all he had on one thing. 

Then a hoodie caught his attention, a full black one with fake fur on the inside that was made to provide extra warmth because of the winter. It had been reduced from eighty to thirty, and Danny smiled as he knew he could afford it. A small search for his size made him happy when there was only one left that would fit him right, he would definitely get this. It would keep him warm, when he was kicked out of his room, and the hood would protect him if he came across Jorel and Dylan again. It was perfect for him. 

He gave a curious look for other things selling, frightened by all the fast paced people, almost running to pick up what clothes they wanted. He smiled when he found a basic top that wasn't on sale, but still was only twenty dollars, so he grabbed one that fit him as well as a pair of jeans that were around about the same price. He had forgotten what it was like to spend money, especially on things he really needed. It brought the smallest of smiles to his face as he searched for more clothes... Maybe some shoes?

When he had picked up everything he wanted to buy, and paid for them, new underwear included, he was happy when the bag filled with what he had bought was given to him, now his. He hurried to leave the store with a wide smile on his face, even if now he only had two or three dollars left, he felt like the clean, high quality clothes he had bought were worth it. He didn't realise until he was outside that he had spent the whole day in the store, trying to figure out what to buy. 

He was just glad that he could shower, and then put on some new clothes. He wouldn't feel like a homeless person for once, and that thought made him feel noticeably better. Grateful to the male that had given him the money, even if he was a noisy neighbour late at night. Danny's smile widened as he thought about the man that gave him so much money, just everything about him cheered the homeless male up that much more. He wasn't even sure why. 

Then in another store something caught his eye, it was a bear plushie that looked soft and extremely cuddly. It was weird, because usually Danny wouldn't notice these things, he wouldn't want them or care for them enough to wish he had enough money to buy them. But the small brown bear, wearing its own tiny sunglasses and small 'Charlie Scene' bandana was something that Danny felt himself really wanted... But he had no money to afford the price it was selling at. And he wondered how much of a big deal his neighbour was as he walked away back to his room, happy with himself for what he had gotten.


	19. Rude? Danny? Never!

Danny's smile was wide as he walked to the second floor of his temporary home, happily heading to his room to try on his new clothes. But then the male who had been responsible for him buying everything stumbled in front of him and all around with a girl next to him, the girl giggling crazily as the man just smirked around. Neither of them noticing that Danny was there. He was shocked as he stood and watched the two, clearly under heavy nfluence of alcohol, and the girl wasn't the same one he had previously seen. So it really had been a different girl every night.

"Can we go into your room?" The girl purred the question out, before giggling as if she had just found something hilarious about what she had said. "I can give you a show too." She laughed. Danny was still standing and looking at the two, for some reason wanting to know what was going on, even if he did know. It was another night he wasn't going to be able to sleep. The man frowned though as he glanced over to the door of Danny's room, his eyes lingering on the numbers before he glared back to the woman pulling on his arm. 

"No... I don't think so." The male suddenly rejected the girl, to the surprise of her and Danny. Its not like she wasn't beautiful, and she was, Danny was just confused that the man wouldn't take this opportunity. What reason did he have when he had a good looking girl ready and willing to do anything he wanted to do? Danny was curious.

"What? Then why did you bring me all the way up here?" The girl suddenly stood back from him, seemingly hurt that he had said no to her. As if she wasn't used to people saying no to her, maybe she wasn't. The man's blue eyes showed the choice he was making as he looked to Danny's door again.

"For fun." The man shrugged. "But I decided that you're boring, you're just going to be like every other girl I've fucked in the past. I can't get off to that anymore." The insensitivity and harsh words the male said shocked Danny, his eyes wide and mouth slightly open. So maybe he was unattracted, but there were nicer ways to say it. The loud, sharp sound of a slap echoed through the hallway as the girl was hurt, furious enough to hit the male for wasting her time and made her leave.

Danny's eyes followed her for a brief moment before switching back to the male, frightened slightly when he was looking directly at him. Danny's heart beat sped up slightly as the male moved a few steps closer to him, making Danny back up slightly. 

"You know, it's rude to listen in on other people's conversations. That's how you get hurt." The man said. Danny felt at a loss for words as his back hit the wall, trapping him and making the man smirk, his blue eyes staring at Danny's with an entertained confidence.


	20. Sleep

"I... I..." Danny was at a loss of words. He didn't feel like this man would hurt him, especially since he had been giving him money. He was frozen in place under the stare of the man who made sure he was able to afford everything. The man looked down to the bag of clothes and slightly chuckled.

"It's good to see my money being put to a good use." He smirked, as if he was challenging Danny to talk back. Danny couldn't do anything but stare, and he didn't want to say that the money wasn't his anymore because this guy was his only source of anything right now. He didn't even want to complain about the noise the male made in the middle of the night, even though he didn't seem to be doing anything tonight. This was Danny's only chance to gain a full night's sleep.

"I need to go..." Danny said, slipping past the male. He was a big deal, Danny got that, but he didn't have to treat him like that. To Danny he was just a generous man who decided to help him.

"What, no thank you for the room? No thank you for all the clothes in that bag?" The male called, Danny didn't say anything as he dug his pockets for the key and reaching to place it in the door. His breath caught in his throat when he was pulled back roughly and turned to face the man, unintentionally making eye contact with him." Nothing?" Danny gulped, but kept quiet as he noticed how intoxicated the man was through his glazed over eyes.

"You do realise you owe me, right?" The man frowned, and Danny's eyes widened.

"I owe you?" Danny was confused, what did he owe him? The money? He wouldn't have spent it if the man expected it back, but then why did he give it away? 

"Yeah. I could have gotten laid tonight, but knowing you probably couldn't sleep I got rid of her." Danny was surprised again by the guy. He did that... So Danny could sleep? He didn't know whether this person was an asshole or not... The man suddenly grinned, pulling Danny with him into his own room. "So you owe me."

Danny's heart raced when he heard the door shut, locking on its own. The lights switched on themselves due to motion sensors, different from Danny's room that required him pressing every switch to turn the lights on and off. If he had the chance, he would have compared the rest of this man's room to his own, but he couldn't as he was lightly shoved onto the bed, dropping his bag of purchases. The male who owned the room crawling on top of him. 

Danny whimpered, afraid suddenly as his brain flashed back to Jorel and what he did, and what he almost did again before Danny ran away. He didn't want that happening again, and he wasn't ready for one night stands, especially with a guy! The trauma of the experience made Danny cry out quietly, terrified thar this man would be the same as Jorel. That was what it took for the person on top of him to stop kissing down his neck and move off him, frowning in confusion. "Why are you afraid?" 

Danny wasn't able to respond, he didn't trust his voice. And he wasn't about to tell a random stranger what had happened to him... Everything he had lost... Even if he risked a lot by ignoring him. Danny didn't even notice the tears falling from his eyes until the man pulled him into his chest, laying both of them on his bed. His heart twisted as he felt confused. "Shh, it's okay." Danny felt better suddenly. Not completely better. But better as he closed his eyes and felt himself falling asleep.


	21. Bother

Danny stood from the now empty bed, he'd woken up in the bed by himself and could hear the shower running. He frowned when the man walked out, ready to argue with him about dragging him into the room that wasn't his. He wasted twenty dollars on a night in the room next door because of this guy, money wasn't something that Danny could afford to waste, and he wanted to make sure this guy knew that.

"So, care to tell me why you dragged me in here?" Danny asked, he wouldn't bother with saying good morning.

"You owed me." He replied, a smug look on his face. "Actually, you still owe me."

"No." Danny snapped. "You owe me, I wasted twenty dollars on a room because of you."

"And where did you get that twenty dollars, can I ask?" He grinned, enjoying the frustration he caused Danny.

"Not from you." Danny lied. That money was definitely from him, but Danny wouldn't let him know that. Even though he clearly did know.

"Oh, so there's another famous rapper that gave you money out of the goodness of their heart?" The man faked his surprise. "Now I don't feel as special." He pretended to be hurt, with a faked pout.

"Look, I don't need-"

"Don't say you don't need help. You do."

"Can't you just answer my question?" Danny changed the argument again, so far losing each one he brought up. "Why did you drag me in here and force me to sleep with you?"

"I slept with you?" Charlie raised his eyebrow, moving away to search for clothes of his own.

"Not like that, don't you remember?" Danny frowned unhappily. "All we did was literally sleep."

"Are you sure I didn't fuck you senseless?" He asked as he pulled out a shirt, Danny's eyes widened in surprise. He still wasn't used to the confidence of this man.

"N-no. I just wish you hadn't made me waste that money, like you said. I'm homeless, I literally can not afford to waste money like that." Danny went back to his first argument.

"Look, here's twenty dollars, since that's what bothers you so much. Buy another night or some shit." He grabbed another cleanly kept bill and handed it to Danny. "Just stop fucking whining would you? Go bother someone else for money."

Danny's eyes lingered on the money, before he glared up at the rapper. "Keep your money." He growled, moving past the male and leaving his room. He didn't know why the comment had affected him so much, but for some reason, hearing that man say that he was bothering him sort of... Hurt for some reason. He didn't even care for the twenty dollars as much as he made it sound.


	22. Deal

"Please, just give me one more night?" Danny begged the lady at the receptionist table.

"No, you can't pay. So leave." The woman hissed, staring at a newspaper and looking through a crossword, trying to show how little she cared.

"I'll be on the streets if you don't let me stay. I promise I'll pay it back, can't you give me one more night?" Danny begged. He should've known by now that people didn't care for him or his problems, but the four nights in a warm room made him want to really try for just one more night. It would be years before he got a room again like that, if he did. 

And it's not like the rapper sitting comfortably in his room would give Danny any more money. He had pissed the guy off and he was pretty sure that man wouldn't give him anything anymore.

"Look, this is a motel. Not a shelter." The woman huffed, annoyed by Danny's constant pleading.

"Please?" Danny tried to make his eyes water, unhappy with himself as it didn't work and instead he only gave regular puppy eyes. Of course, in the only time when he needed to cry, or look like he was crying, he couldn't.

"No. Get lost." The lady rolled her eyes.

"But... I have nowhere to go..." Danny muttered, saddened.

"If you hadn't ran away, like everyone else like you, this wouldn't be a problem you had to face."

"But, I had to leave..." Danny whispered. 

"Look, I don't care about your life story." The woman stood up. " You're just like every other homeless person out there, thinking you can get whatever you want just by guilt tripping people." Danny sighed. He wasn't getting anywhere with this, he was back on the streets. 

\---~~~---

Danny let out a bored groan, he hadn't made any money begging because he hadn't bothered to sing. He could have gotten enough money for a night probably by singing, but he didn't want to. The new clothes and being clean reminded him of the first day he was homeless. Danny smiled slightly at the small memory, remembering how convinced he was that he had lost everything. Now he truly had lost everything, it felt rediculous how upset he felt that day. A pair of expensive boots stood in front of Danny and he frowned as they distracted him from his train of thought. 

"How much have you made?" Charlie asked, and Danny glared past him.

"Next to nothing, why do you care?" Danny muttered, avoiding looking at the celebrity in front of him.

"I'm going to buy you that night that you were begging for." Charlie spoke, no emotion in his voice. "Come on." Danny got up and followed him with a curious expression as he walked back to the motel.

"What the catch?" Danny questioned, not believing it was that easy.

"Does there have to be a catch?" Charlie asked, his tone of voice a warning to Danny to shut up or else.

"No..." Danny muttered, following behind the male like a lost puppy.

\---~~~---

Danny stared with wide eyes and a happy smile at the door to the room he was going to spend the night in. Charlie was in front of it with keys in his hands. 

"So, you were right, there is a catch." Charlie grinned.

"What is it?" Danny sighed. He knew it wasn't that easy.

"Well, I have another show, and one of the people doing back vocals cancelled. I need you to take his place." Charlie explained. Danny's smile disappeared. "I can always go and get my money back."

"I..." Danny wasn't sure if that was a good idea. He didn't even know any of Charlie's songs. Was this extra night worth it? "I don't know any of your music." He admitted.

"That's what you can use the sound check for." Charlie answered, grinning wide. "So, should I get my twenty dollars back or will you do it?"

"I'll do it..." Danny still felt unsure, but he guessed it wouldn't be so bad...

"Great. Be ready to go in an hour." Charlie demanded, giving Danny his key and walking to his own room.


	23. Show Time

Danny checked himself in the mirror one more time before he opened the door for Charlie. He wanted to look good if he was to be back-up vocals, because that likely meant people would see him... At least that's what he wanted to believe. He would never let himself believe that he was trying to look good for this famous music star. Why would he? He still missed George and it wasn't that easy to move on from someone's death, especially someone that close to you... Was it?

"So, are you ready to go?" Charlie grinned, happy to see the male properly cleaned up. The only issue Charlie noticed was the mess his hair was in as it fell down his face, it was clean and had been washed, but with no hair brush, probably for months, it didn't look so good. He'd get the male one on the way there, he decided.

"Yeah." Danny gave a happy smile as he closed and locked the door behind him, following the musician out to his car. It wasn't any fancy Porsche or Lamborghini like all those clichés of the rich guys with the best of the best. Danny was almost surprised when he looked at the Ford Fiesta parked not far from the motel, responding to the keys in Charlie's hand. But Danny was in no place to be picky of what vehicle he was in, so he didn't say a word as he silently got in the passenger seat.

\---~~~---

When they had finally gotten there Danny felt jittery and nervous, seeing a lot of people all crowded around a building which Danny knew was all for Charlie. He'd spent his life getting ignored by people, kicked and beaten sometimes when he was noticed... And the last time he was noticed made his shiver slightly. He didn't want to be noticed again, knowing that could happen. But there was no way he could walk in their unnoticed when he was walking in with the star this was all for, was there? He really should have thought about this before he agreed to it...

"What's wrong?" Charlie had parked his car a distance away, both because there weren't many parking spaces and he didn't want which car he used to be noticed, the last thing he needed was fans recognising his registration plate.

"I'm a little... Scared..." Danny admitted, running his hand through his now brushed hair. He was grateful to Charlie for buying him that, it felt so much better to have his hair neatly looked after.

"I won't let anything happen to you." Charlie reached his hand over to Danny's slightly, surprised for a flash of a second before he hesitantly placed it back on the wheel. "I promise." He muttered, and Danny forced a smile. He wasn't completely sure, but he did feel a little more reassured since Charlie had said that. So, maybe he could trust him... 


	24. Kidding

Charlie walked with Danny to the club and tried to go in through the back room unnoticed. That didn't go to plan as some fans noticed him and started running up to him, sighing as the door opened he held Danny tighter as he moved in quickly to avoid the excited audience. He loved them, sure, but being around them could be too much sometimes, especially right now with Danny, who had seemed scared to be here. At least that was what he thought before he looked over to see Danny's wide smile and happy excitement.

"Whatever happened to being afraid?" He asked, and Danny smiled wider.

"You're the one that's going to get all the attention, not me." Danny was relieved. "So I don't have to be scared."

"You were afraid of attention?" Charlie asked, finding Danny's answer unexpected.

"What else would I be afraid of?" Danny then realised who he was talking to, Charlie had no idea of the shit he had gone through.

"I was guessing it was some sort of fear of crowds or something..." Charlie frowned. "Why are you afraid of attention?" He couldn't help but ask.

"Usually I get bad attention..." Danny muttered. He didn't feel emotionally or mentally stable enough to be telling what had happened to him, and there wasn't even time to go from the beginning as someone freaked out, yelling that they had ten minutes before Charlie was on. 

" You get my attention, is that bad?" Charlie asked. Danny stared at him with wide eyes and a surprised expression, before smiling again.

"I don't know yet." He grinned.

"Charlie!" Another male called. A lot of people were calling his name, but none were happy and friendly like this one was. "It's great to see you, who's this?" The man smiled at Charlie, ready to make a small conversation before his dark brown eyes met Danny's. 

"I found him a small while ago. He's going to do backing vocals with you tonight." The man's smile turned a little fake as he gave Danny a look over.

"I hope he's a better singer than a better looker." Danny's eyes widened in surprise again. What exactly was that supposed to mean? And here he was thinking Charlie was the rude one. "Kidding." Danny was still surprised even when the male said that, but Charlie laughed so something about what he said must have been funny.

"Danny, this is Deuce." Charlie introduced with a smile. "And Deuce, this is Danny."

"Nice to meet you." Deuce smiled, holding his hand out for the homeless man to shake. With slight hesitation Danny completed the interaction and give a quick smile. "Quiet one, aren't you?" Danny just didn't feel like saying anything. He might end up looking stupid if he does, was what he thought. 

"Well I'll see you next to the stage in a minute, Deuce." Charlie told his friend, turning to face Danny as he walked away. "Danny?"

"Yeah?" Danny's eyes focused onto Charlie's blue ones.

"Deuce is one of my closest friends, I trust him with practically everything. Feel free to talk to him about anything you might need if I'm, for some reason, not around, okay?" Charlie explained, and Danny nodded. Even if he wasn't so sure about trusting the man Charlie was talking about." Do you remember the lyrics to the songs?"

" Yep." Danny gave a wide grin, thankful that Charlie was able to let him learn on the drive to this venue.

"Cool. Go join Deuce, I'll be there in a minute." Charlie said before running off to one of the busy people around him, talking quickly about something. Danny's feet hesitated for a moment before he did as Charlie said and stood next to the musician's friend, awkwardly standing next to each other and not talking until Charlie got there.


	25. Run

Danny was happy and giddy with adrenaline when he walked off the stage with Deuce and Charlie, happily performing next to the two as if he was in his element. Because he was. He missed performing like that, even if it was only backing vocals.

"Are you okay?" Charlie asked, concern evident in his eyes. All Danny did was nod his head and give a small laugh, making Charlie smile too at the realisation that Danny was fine. He had been checking over his shoulder at Danny througout the whole show, trying to make sure that he was okay.

"I'm great!" Danny smiled, staring happily at the audience from the side of the stage. They were all drinking and having fun, dancing around even after the show was over. His fears were all gone and all he had now was the adrenaline, ready to go and join the people there as if he was one of them. But when he took and excited step towards the group of people his smile fell when he recognised two people. Jorel and Dylan. They were part of the crowd, smiling and laughing and all of a sudden Danny's heart was beating with fear, not happiness. 

"Danny?" Charlie's concerned expression appeared again as he noticed the change in Danny. All of a sudden he wasn't smiling and happy. But the homeless male didn't hear Charlie calling his name as all he thought about was the need to escape. To get away from them. So he turned and pushed through people in a hurry to get out, opening the back door and sprinting away as fast as he possibly could, as far as his legs would carry him. 

The fact that he heard the footsteps of someone running behind him forced more fear into his soul as he dreaded what would happen if he got caught, so he pushed himself to run faster. And he didn't stop swerving his way through people, almost like he did the first time he ran from Jorel and Dylan. 

When he stopped it was across the road from a train station, and he smiled for a moment before he realised that he had no money. He quickly looked to where he came from, seeing someone pushing past a lot of people, but he could see who it was. Scared by how close they were getting, Danny couldn't wait for the lights to change, terrified as they turned green and he sprinted through people across the road and tripping when he was almost at the station. 

"Danny!" Charlie rushed to catch the male before he fell, helping him back up. He was shocked when he saw Danny crying when he was just so happy only moments ago. What happened? "Danny, what's wrong?" Charlie's tone softened as he tried to be gentle with the male, making him sob louder. Charlie gave a small frown of thought to himself before he gave a kind smile to Danny.

"Come on, I'll take you somewhere nice to help cheer you up." Charlie moved away from Danny slightly, the man still crying but looking wide eyed at him. Like Charlie was the first person to ever be kind to him in the entire world. Charlie gave a slightly wider smile, keeping his hand on Danny's as he walked him away. But in the back of his mind, Charlie couldn't help but wonder what caused Danny to suddenly change like that?


	26. Rainbow Ice Cream

Danny was quiet as Charlie followed the road of people on his journey to the nice place he mentioned. Just hearing about somewhere nice had stopped Danny's crying as he looked out the car window with interest. He was curious to know where Charlie was taking him, and he looked with wide brown eyes at all the locations they passed, stopping at a restaurant that looked relatively busy.

"Come on, you haven't had any food in a while, I bet." Charlie smiled, parking his car and helping Danny out. The starving look in the homeless man's eyes making him laugh lightly, he was right then. For Danny, it felt weird when he walked in, as everyone stared at the two. Well, they were mostly staring at Charlie, since he was the famous musician who a lot of people knew. Danny was just this random guy no one had ever seen before who had joined him.

The unusual feeling of being the centre of attention faded at the smell of food, his stomach, not only growling, but hurting at the smell of burgers, steaks, all amazing foods that he wanted to eat. His mouth slightly filling with drool at the idea of having delicious food. 

"Other than having coffee flavoured water, which I feel had some sort of poison in it, nothing for about a week." Danny said, Charlie looked at him with an amused expression as he pulled out the chair for the homeless man.

"Well sit down, read the menu and choose whatever you like." Charlie smiled as he sat himself down too.

"Even if it's the whole menu?" Danny's eyes looked through the list of food with starved eyes, as if it was the first time he'd ever seen foods so delicious in his life.

"Yes, even if it's the whole menu." Charlie laughed. "Though I doubt you could eat it all." Danny's eyes moved from the menu and to the musician.

"Try me." Danny grinned, determination shining in his eyes. He wanted to prove Charlie wrong.

"Another time. Right now just focus on choosing something you enjoy." Charlie chuckled, finding the male's actions adorable.

Both men smiled happily at their meals when they were placed in front of them, and Charlie let out a small laugh as Danny didn't waste a single second in eating the burger he had asked for. Which he had asked for with the most polite manners Charlie had ever seen. Biting into his own food he suddenly realised how skinny Danny was. Of course he'd be underweight, that was what one of the consequence of homelessness was. But suddenly Charlie felt like he should have bought the whole menu, if anything to help Danny reach a healthy weight...Amusement flashed in Charlie's eyes as he saw the adoring look that the man opposite gave to a rainbow coloured ice cream scoop, a cherry on top with some chocolate pouring around it. 

"I'll be back in a minute." Charlie said once he finished his food, walking to the bathroom and leaving Danny to patiently wait for him to come back. A wide smile covering his face and the biggest meal he had ate in the longest time, but that didn't mean he wasn't still hungry. So his eyes glistened hungrily when Charlie walked back to him with a similar version of the rainbow ice cream he had noticed earlier. His one looked so much more better though, and he was sure it was because Charlie was the one requesting it. Everyone wants good reviews from a famous person. 

"Here you go, Danny." Charlie grinned, placing the dish in front of him along with a spoon. Finding it cute as Danny quickly got to eating it, constantly saying thank you to Charlie for getting it for him. He was definitely feeling better, every trace and memory of Jorel and Dylan gone from his mind as he enjoyed his sugary treat.


	27. Jealous Invites

Danny smiled happily as he sang in the streets. He didn't make anything really, everyone had spent their money on Charlie's shows. Of course they had, and Danny wasn't any important part of the show people would recognise like Aron was. So there was that. It didn't stop him from singing as he found himself enjoying it, even with no benefit from it. He used to love to sing, and he'd do it all the time, even when his family told him to shut up. He was so happy to be able to sing, then again, nothing really ever held him back from it in the first place.

"Nice voice." Danny stopped singing at the comment he got from Charlie's friend, Aron. The one Danny was told he could trust when Charlie wasn't around. 

"Thanks." Danny smiled. "I like yours too." Aron smirked at the comment, feeling it boost his ego.

"Want to go get a drink?" Aron offered, and Danny's smile widened. He was just in a really happy mood today, he wasn't exactly sure why. He didn't even care if he was about to annoy his company with his overly happy state.

"Sure!" He joined Aron and walked with him to the nearby bar, letting him lead the way. Danny smiled at the idea of the bar, and he missed Matt. Matt felt like his own personal bartender, and he was someone Danny felt like he could definitely trust all because he wasn't linked to anything to do with Jorel. Not that Aron or Charlie seemed to either, but they weren't as easy to talk to as Matt was.

"So, where did Charlie find you?" Aron made conversation, Danny didn't care about hiding the truth.

"On the streets. I'm homeless, he gave me money and it helped out a lot." Danny explained, getting a look of realisation from the male next to him. "How did you meet him?" 

"We've been best friends for years. He was homeless for a while too, did he tell you that?" Aron questioned. That shocked Danny for a moment. Charlie? Famous rapper Charlie Scene? Homeless? That was probably old news to everyone. But Danny had no idea.

"We haven't known each other that long." Danny replied, still amazed. Seeing his curiosity, Aron smirked.

"He used music to get his way out, rapped what ever lyrics he could think up to gain enough money and built his way to fame from there." Aron gave Danny a gesture that they were at the bar he wanted to go to. "He must have seen you singing like that and related to it."

"Must have." Danny muttered, still amazed by the new information.

"Danny?" Charlie was sitting at the bar table. Surprised when he noticed Aron and Danny. "What are you doing here with Aron?" Danny frowned at how weird that question was. Charlie had said he could trust Aron. Danny didn't trust him fully, sure, but he trusted him enough to drink with him.

"Relax, Jordon. I'm not going to get him drunk for a quick fuck." Aron scoffed, sitting down with Danny. The homeless male was confused though, why did Aron call him Jordon? 

"You have before." Charlie grumbled.

"So, what do you want to drink? It's on me." Aron smiled, but before Danny could reply, Charlie jumped in.

"He doesn't drink alcohol." He said flatly. "Danny, come on." Danny's mind couldn't even think past getting interrupted before he was dragged away from Aron and pulled into the men's restroom.

"You said I could trust him?" Danny muttered, seeing Charlie's unhappy expression. 

"Trust him." Charlie agreed to what he said. "Not date him." He snapped. Danny's eyes widened at the comment.

"Date him? I wasn't...He asked me out for a drink and I needed a break from begging?" Danny tried to explain.

"Sounds like a date to me." Charlie muttered, glaring at himself in the mirror next to the sinks.

"... Are you jealous?" Danny's eyes went wide at the realisation, slightly amused. Charlie's blue eyes flashed to Danny's, a silent threat to be quiet and stop that train of thought. So, with a wide grin of amusement, Danny bit his lip and remained quiet until he thought of something else to say. "Why did he call you Jordon?" Danny asked.

"That's my real name, it isn't really a secret." Charlie quickly informed. Danny mouthed and "oh" of understanding, his eyes travelling to his feet in admiration of his new shoes. "Look, I have to attend a cruise ship meeting and I need a plus one." Charlie sighed, bringing Danny's eyes back to his.

"You want me to go with you?" Danny asked. Charlie gave a nod of confirmation.

"Will you?" Charlie questioned.

"Sure!" Danny agreed.

"I have another concert, also... I still need you for that."

"I'll go with you for that as well."


	28. Performing With Charlie

This time, at Charlie's concert, Danny was extremely scared. The last time he was there he thought he saw Jorel and Dylan, and if they were here again he'd never do shows with anyone. He knew Charlie had no idea, but he didn't have it in him to tell him why he was so scared as he searched the audience for any sight of the terrifying men. And when the show was done, he wanted out of there as quickly as possible.

"Danny, relax. Give me a minute and we can go." Charlie sighed. Something was wrong with Danny, he knew. Something really terrified the male, and he had no idea what. If he found out, maybe he could fix it for Danny. He didn't deserve to be afraid all the time.

"Okay, please hurry." Danny quietly muttered, looking at everyone who passed him with anxious eyes. He was afraid that anyone of these people around him could be Jorel or Dylan, and if he didn't pay attention, they'd catch him. Why did he agree to this? After last time, he didn't know why he did.

"See? We're safe. I bought you the room again." Charlie said once both males were in his car, driving away from the venue and to the motel they both were temporarily staying in. Danny let out a breath as he felt safer in the car, there was much less people, and that motel room would give him a good night's sleep too. He let out a tired smile, being anxious all night was exhausting, and sleep sounded really good right now.

"Thank you." Danny was grateful for Charlie, it was amazing that he had done so much for him. Danny felt ready to fall asleep as he was hugged by the warmth of the car, but before his eyes could fully close he recognised the sight of the motel he had been staying at.

When he got into his room he was so tired he could barely walk, his eyes set on going to his bed, neatly made and looking incredibly cozy. And if it wasn't for the letter that sat on the bed, Danny would have collapsed onto the bed and slept the night away, but instead, he picked up the letter. The writing on it suddenly waking him up as his heart beat raced, his eyes wide as alarms screeched in his head.

_Hello, Danny_

_Charlie Scene won't keep you safe_

Danny's heart beat so fast that he felt like he was having a heart attack. How? How did they find him? It was obvious that they saw him performing with Charlie. But how did they know where he was staying? Danny's wide brown eyes flashed around the room, expecting either of them to be sitting around in the room, or even in the bathroom. His eyes lingered on the door to the room's bathroom, staring at it for longer than a second, convinced someone was in there... The longer he spent staring the more his anxiety grew, and suddenly he wasn't frozen anymore as he sprinted out of the room and quickly banged on Charlie's.

When Charlie opened the door he planned on angrily yelling at whoever it was, wanting to sleep. But when he realised it was Danny, breathing rapidly with fear obviously coursing through his veins, he didn't waste a second on pulling him into the room and sitting him down on the bed. 

"Danny, what's wrong?" Charlie asked. This was the most terrified that Charlie had ever seen the male, and it almost made Charlie feel scared himself. What had done this to Danny? He got no response from Danny, almost like the male was some sort of traumatised and his blue eyes trailed down to his hand. He frowned when he noticed the piece of paper messily creased in Danny's hand, balled up into a shaky fist with white knuckles. Charlie gently tried prying it from Danny's fingers, and when he read it he looked back to Danny's scared face. 

"Who sent you this?" Charlie questioned, but the homeless male gave no response. With a sigh, Charlie helped him into the bed and under the blankets, climbing in himself and holding Danny close. "They're lying. I can protect you, and I will protect you even if it costs my life." Charlie muttered, feeling Danny cuddle closer to him.

"I promise, Danny." Charlie whispered. "Nothing will happen to you as long as I'm here."


	29. Keeping Quiet

"Look, Aron. I'm sorry." Danny heard Charlie apologising about something, when he woke up the first thing he heard was Charlie's voice. Danny kept his eyes closed as he snuggled further into his pillow. What was Charlie apologising for? "I know you're usually my plus one, but-" Danny could figure out what happened. Aron didn't like that Danny was invited instead of him and walked off when Charlie wouldn't change his mind. 

"What was that about?" Danny still felt like he should ask as he let out a yawn, sitting up.

"Nothing you have to worry about." Charlie sighed, sitting on the bed with Danny.

"Okay." Danny muttered. He felt really drowsy and didn't want to worry about anything anyway.

"Danny, I need to know something." Charlie quietly said, trying to be gentle about the subject. He wanted to know who sent that letter to Danny.

"What?" Danny gave a sleepy smile, memories of the night before creeping into his mind and slowly taking that smile away. Before Charlie could ask anything he heard a knock at his door, and he sighed as he got up to answer it.

"Hi, is there someone named Danny in there with you?" Danny frowned. He didn't expect to hear his name being mentioned, but when he leaned over to see who was there he jumped back and hid under the covers of the bed. Dylan was there, and he was asking about where he was.

"Uh, no. There isn't, why do you ask?" Charlie frowned. Danny thanked the male mentally for saying no, but he was still shaking in fear as he begged for Dylan to leave.

"We just need to talk to him, well, thanks anyway." Dylan smiled to Charlie, who gave him a blank look. He closed the door once he left.

"Danny?" Charlie looked back to his bed, seeing the male quivering under the covers. "Danny, it's alright now. He's gone." Danny climbed out of bed after hearing Charlie say that. 

"Thank you." Danny muttered, looking down to his shoes.

"Who is he?" Charlie asked. Danny didn't have it in him to say who he was.

"He doesn't matter." Danny whispered.

"Yes, he does." Charlie snapped, scaring Danny slightly. When he realised that he made Danny jump he let out a sigh. "He asked about you. He's important."

"Is he the one who gave you that letter?" Danny shut his eyes tightly at the question, he didn't want to think about the letter.

"No, he doesn't matter." Danny said a little louder. Charlie frowned.

"He does!" The rapper tried to persist.

"Not to you he doesn't!" Danny yelled back, the fear of having Dylan and Jorel so close by showing in his eyes. Charlie stayed quiet as Danny walked by him. "I'm going out."

He couldn't help but feel bad for arguing with the male as he left him in the room. But he needed his space...


	30. Deal?

Danny's guilt grew as he walked away from the motel. He knew Charlie was only worried for him, and it made sense with everything that was happening. He just didn't want to put Charlie in danger too, and he was sure Jorel and Dylan wouldn't take too well to Danny telling people. Slowly, fear crept back up on him as he knew that the two were near. Now paying close attention to each person he passed, not wanting to accidentally run into the people he believed would surely kill him.

When he walked into the nearby bar he noticed Aron sitting at a table, seemingly unhappy. Danny took a quick look at everyone around him before sitting down opposite Aron, receiving a glare from the male. "What are you doing here?"

"You're the only one I know here, thought I may as well talk to you." Danny shrugged. Aron rolled his eyes and took another drink from his beer.

"Do you really not drink alcohol?" Danny was confused at the question for a moment, before remembering the reason why he asked.

"Uh, no, I do." Danny gave a small smile. Maybe he shouldn't have sat with this guy, he didn't seem to want to talk, which was shown when he didn't respond after. 

"Look, I saw that man, Dylan. I heard what he said." Aron said, bringing Danny's full attention to him. "Why is he looking for you?" 

"You know who he is?" Danny got distracted, still shocked about what Aron had said.

"Yeah, he usually hangs around with Jorel." Aron spoke. Danny already figured that out, but now he was determined to know more about them.

"What do you know about them other than that?" Danny questioned. Maybe if he knew, he would have a better chance of getting away from them? He didn't know. He just felt like knowing more about them would be useful.

"I tell you what, you tell Charlie that you don't want to be his plus one so I can go instead, and I'll tell you what I know." Aron sat up, his brown eyes warning Danny and spiking worry in his heart. For some reason he felt like if he said no, Aron would rat him out to the duo...And it wasn't like the idea of being on a cruise ship with Charlie was so appealing Danny could risk this... Was it?

"Okay, fine. Deal." Danny muttered, looking to Aron with eager eyes. A wide grin crossed Aron's face as he started talking, telling Danny exactly e everything he knew about them.


	31. Everywhere I Go

Charlie was unhappy when Danny came back. He had worried a lot while Danny was gone, but when he came back Charlie was even more confused, frowning as he followed Danny around the motel and onto the street, not caring for anything or anyone around him other than the homeless male.

"I changed my mind, Charlie." He had said when he knocked on the door and Charlie had answered. "I don't want to be your plus one."

Charlie was still confused about Danny's choice. He didn't even explain, he just kept saying that he didn't want to go. Why didn't he? And it confused Charlie more that Danny's change of mind stung a little. Did he do something wrong? Charlie was pretty sure Danny was fine with him.

"If I did something you didn't like just tell me." He whined, following Danny up until he stopped at his begging place.

"You didn't do anything wrong." Danny muttered, biting his lip as he stared down at the grey pavement. "I just don't want to go."

"Why not?" Charlie asked, staring at the male with pleading eyes.

"I don't like cruise ships..." Danny cringed. That was a lie and Charlie knew it, as he suddenly glared. 

"Have you ever been on a cruise ship?" He hissed.

"No..." Danny whispered, still refusing to look at Charlie. He was pretty sure if he did he'd have no choice but to tell Danny what he agreed to.

"Then how do you know if you don't like it?" He scoffed. "I call bullshit." Charlie growled, only realising then the building group of people who were taking pictures of him and Danny. He stared at them all for a moment, getting excited looks from everyone he unintentionally made eye contact with. There weren't many, but he couldn't be out for long otherwise the crazier of fans would show, and that wasn't what he needed when he was trying to get a good excuse from Danny. 

"Now tell me the truth." Charlie demanded as he looked back to the homeless male, more urgency in his voice as he listened to the chant of growing people asking for a song. When he glanced back to all the people around him, he now knew he had no choice if he wanted to leave, he needed to give them all a song. A smile crossed his face at the memory of when he used to draw crowds like this when he was homeless, he'd perform on the streets even after getting famous because he couldn't afford a home at first. Getting no reply from Danny made him let out a sigh, before he leaned on the window next to him and looked at the crowd with phones out. 

"Everywhere I go, bitches always know." His grin stretched across his face as he felt the nostalgia hit him, feeling really happy even with the person who had just rejected him next to him. It was good to perform like this, and as people cheered, he realised exactly how much he actually missed performing on the street. "That Charlie Scene has got a weenie that he loves to show." When he repeated the line he had fans singing it back to him, and he noticed the small smile covering Danny's face at the lyrics. But Danny only silently watched as Charlie kept going with the song, ready to sing his chorus since Aron wasn't here. 

"Let's get this party started." Danny sang just when Charlie was about to, grinning just as wide as Charlie was. He didn't know how or why, but Charlie had this strange way of lifting his mood. Maybe it was the song. Danny was willing to bet it was just the song, since it was fun to do. And having an audience sing it with him made him feel even better, keeping his end of his deal with Aron not mattering to him as he let himself have a good time.

Charlie gave out a laugh when the song was finished, thanking people before grabbing Danny's hand. Surprising the homeless male as he was dragged away back to the motel and they ran into his room. Sure, Charlie missed doing street performances, but he only wanted to do one song. "God, that was fun." He chuckled, out of breath from the small sprint.

"Yeah." Charlie noticed the joy that shined in Danny's eyes, finding himself appreciating the swirl of chocolate that contained a happy, playful glint in them. They were so beautiful. Charlie blinked a few times when he noticed what he was thinking, moving from his position on the door to the TV in his room. "Charlie?"

"Hm?" He gave a small questioning noise to let Danny know that he was listening.

"I-uh... About the cruise ship." The rapper's smile faltered, looking to Danny and trying to hide the hint of sadness in his eyes. "Aron seemed upset about it, like, really upset." Charlie looked away to the TV, checking the channel. Or rather, thinking about the fact that Aron was pretty upset.

"So I told him I'd cancel so you'd take him instead to cheer him up." Danny admitted, looking to Charlie with a hesitant expression. The male only gave a chuckle, making his way to Danny and staring back into his gentle eyes with adoration.

"You're so fucking precious, Danny." He chuckled, lifting his hand to Danny's cheek and softly brushing it. Only when he felt himself moving his head closer to Danny's, tilting slightly, did he stop himself. The male seemed nervous, but his eyes were hazy and his mouth was slightly open. Charlie had a quick conflict of what he should do, moving closer and then backing away, before deciding to completely back away. "I can make it a plus two." Charlie cleared his throat.

"You can?" The musician smirked at Danny's happy tone. He could do that.

"We can just share a room." He shrugged, amused at Danny's wide eyes. They were accompanied with a wide smile that Charlie was happy to see.

"You know, I wasn't joking when I said I have a weenie I love to show." He chuckled. Danny froze as he stared at the male, not knowing how to answer that. "Maybe you'll get to see it in our room." He laughed as Danny's face turned bright red. The homeless male coughing and stuttering out incoherent words and Charlie flicked through the channels with a remote.


	32. Hide And Seek

Curious brown eyes watched as a bunch of high profile people walked into Charlie's room and took away his suitcases of clothes, placing them into a van that would be taken to the cruise ship. Danny wasn't really sure what he expected, of course Charlie, the famous rapper, wouldn't have to worry about his own luggage. Danny wouldn't want to worry about that if he was famous either. A wide grin crossed his face when Charlie told him it was time to go, both getting in his car and going to the ship.

"It's for a few weeks, there will be a couple meetings but it will be mostly enjoying yourself." Charlie explained. "There's a buffet, casino, arcade, swimming pool, hot tubs, gym..." Charlie listed, entertained by Danny's bright, excited eyes.

"Luxury bedrooms with expensive beds to fuck on." Charlie burst out in laughter at Danny's sudden shocked face, staring at the rapper as if he had just spoke a different language.

When Charlie and Danny got to the ship, Danny was pretty sure that it wasn't possible for his eyes to get any wider. It was huge! And it looked extremely cool. He was almost bouncing in his seat as he grinned at Charlie, wanting to explore the entire place. "Calm down, Danny." The rapper parked his car, Danny not waiting until the engine was off as he jumped out. 

"What are you doing here? We had a deal." Danny's attention went to Aron, who stood next to the steps that led up onto the boat.

"We did, Charlie made it a plus two." Danny smiled. "So everyone wins."

"Sure they do..." Aron muttered, looking to Charlie as he caught up.

"Are we ready to go?" Charlie checked, his grin never leaving as Danny gave hurried nods. Aron gave a singular, more calm nod. "Then let's go." He didn't have to tell Danny twice as the homeless male sprinted onto the ship, looking around in amazement at everything. Charlie was out of breath when he finally caught up to Danny. 

"This is amazing!" Danny gushed, frantically looking around.

"Let me show you where our room is, and then you can explore." Charlie grinned, walking with Danny, who followed with a wide smile. Neither of them noticing the unhappy look of Aron as they disappeared into the ship.

Danny walked through the expensive door, that contained a fancy geometric pattern engraved into it, that was being held by Charlie for him. He remembered the expression that was on Danny's face when he saw that rainbow ice cream, and right now, Danny's expression was that times one thousand. The room had a really neat, cleaned up bed covered in silk covers and golden pillows, and it faced the windows that overlooked the sea and, at the right angle, would show the sunset. Two of the comfiest brown leather chairs that Danny had ever seen had a triangular coffee table in front of them with a vase of black dahlias. 

A few further steps in and a small "wow" left Danny's lips. Shutters opened into a living room with the same colour of sofa as the chairs were, bottles of beer sat in a bucket of ice on the coffee table and a curved television screen sat above an electric, colour changing fireplace, a bookshelf next to it. He almost forgot about the fact that Charlie was with him as he ran to the bathroom, everything in it being automatic.

"I want to be a famous music star like you..." Danny pouted when he ran back to the rapper. Charlie let out a laugh at Danny's face.

"Trust me, it isn't as good as it looks." Charlie hated to be pessimistic, but it was true. This ship was his favourite thing every year, it was private, and it was his to do anything he wanted. Tons of Charlie's and Aron's friends always joined them, and it was always a great time.

"So what do you want to do now?" Charlie questioned, using a suggestive tone that Danny never caught onto.

"Hide and Seek!" Danny yelled happily.

"Uhm, what?" He wasn't expecting that.

"Please?" Danny begged, using puppydog eyes to persuade the musician.

"Fine. I'll count, you go hide." Charlie sighed with a smile. "I better get something really fucking special when I find you." Charlie muttered, knowing it would take forever with how big this ship was.

"Okay." Danny giggled, running to the door.

"And it better have something to do with fucking!" Charlie called as Danny disappeared out the door, leaving him to count up to one hundred.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is literally the most detailed description of a bedroom in my life...But there's a really good reason for that c;


	33. Found You

A giggle escaped Danny as he crouched behind an arcade machine. He quickly placed a hand over his mouth to muffle the sound of his little laughter, watching with a racing heart as Charlie walked by, starting his search. Once Danny was sure he was gone he got out of the space, gently opening the door Charlie walked through, trying to see if he could see where Charlie went.

"Aron, have you seen Danny anywhere?" Danny bit his lip in fright as he carefully shut the door, letting a another small laugh escape him as he quickly sneaked in the other direction away from Charlie. A giddy yelp wriggled it's way out of his mouth as he heard the door Charlie was at open, sprinting away from it in fear that the rapper would have caught him. Nearby he saw a gym, but it was too big for Danny to hide in as he searched for somewhere to go.

Along the hallway Charlie suddenly appeared, and Danny's eyes widened as he dashed out of the door and outside. Running to the buffet, maybe he could get a snack or something. There was a lot of people in the food place, and every single bit of food looked cooked to perfection. "Can I have a slice of pizza, please?" Danny politely asked, a chef smiling and cutting him a slice that fit onto a patterned silver and gold plate. He took a small bite, still feeling the adrenaline of hiding as he kept a look out for the musician. He was almost finished the pizza when Charlie walked in, and he placed it on the table. 

"Aron, hide me!" Danny begged as he jumped behind the singer, grabbing onto his sides and pulling him to the door like a shield. 

"What the fuck?" Aron yelled, not expecting Danny to suddenly leap behind him and pull him away from his friends, now laughing at the interaction. 

"Shh!" Danny hissed, leaving him alone and sprinting through the door again. Running outside once again and looking back to where he came from with a laugh, not seeing Charlie with a laugh. A gasp of fright left Danny as he ran into a slightly muscled chest, one he could tell straight away wasn't Charlie's.

"Hello, Danny." Terror filled his soul at the sound of the voice as he leaped away. All happiness and entertainment drained from Danny as he stared at Jorel and Dylan in fear, the two men in hysterics at his expression. It wasn't them, it couldn't be. How the fuck did they get on here?


	34. Hiding Afraid

Back behind an arcade machine, Danny breathed heavily as he hid. But hiding wasn't fun anymore, and he had no idea where Charlie was as he was hiding to keep himself safe. The door opened not long after he ran in, and Dylan came running through with Jorel following, the homeless male held his breath in panic. "I swear he came this way!" Dylan growled in frustration. 

"Let's keep looking. It's not like he can get far." Jorel muttered, looking around before stepping by Dylan. Danny tried to move past all the machines, getting to the other end as quickly as possible. A small groan left him as he wriggled out of the opposite end of the machines, away from the two men hunting him. He stared with anxiety as he realised that they had heard him, any second now they would notice him. And he didn't want to wait to find out. 

"There!" He heard Dylan yell and Danny sprinted out the door, hearing the footsteps of the two men following him, extremely hot on his tail. He ran as fast as he could, moving quickly through people and through doors, feeling that if he stopped he'd definitely lose his life.

"Got you!" A scream burned in Danny's throat as he was pulled into the tight arms of Charlie. Not realising it was him until he managed to hurt his ears. Light hearted laughter relaxed Danny only slightly as he twisted to face Charlie. The wide smile on the musicians face fell as he looked at the traumatised face of Danny. "Danny, what's wrong?" He frowned, noticing the two men hurriedly walking towards him and Danny. One had been the one who knocked on his door, the other was someone he was all too familiar with.

"Can I help you?" Charlie growled, his blue eyes challenging both men to do anything. He heard a little whimper leave Danny and he pulled the male closer to his chest, protectively keeping him away from the two dangerous men. He didn't know one of them, but he knew Jorel, and it was safe to bet that he was just as dangerous as Jorel.

"Uh, no. No, we're good." Jorel grinned, not daring to do anything while the rapper was around.

"Yep, just, walking around." Dylan muttered awkwardly, looking everywhere but at Charlie. Danny's eyes were tightly shut, but he heard everything, even Jorel and Dylan leaving when Charlie demanded it. How did he have so much power over them? Not even George managed to make him feel this safe.

"Danny, how do you know them?" Charlie questioned, pulling away to look at the homeless male.

"They're not important..." Danny muttered.

"Danny, I am _not_ playing with you, now who are they to you?" Charlie snapped. Fed up with Danny constantly saying that people who were clearly a big deal to him, weren't important. "I know Jorel, I know what he can do. Why the fuck is he so interested in you?" He growled, his heart twisting in protest as a weak cry left Danny as he teared up.

"I can't..." Danny sobbed. Charlie's eyes softened as he stared at the male falling apart right in front of him. 

"Hey, hey, it's okay. Look, it's getting dark, how about we get some dinner and get you some more rainbow ice cream." Charlie pulled Danny into a tight hug again, kissing the top of his head before he could stop himself. "I'll even get a sparkler put on it for you." The small nod he felt on his chest made him smile lightly, walking away towards the buffet that wasn't far.


	35. Luxury Defined

Danny felt a lot better after the dinner, it had became an eating competition that he had easily won, with plenty room left for that ice cream he was promised. His mood had lifted because of Charlie, and he loved the protection the musician offered. "Are you done with food yet?" Charlie asked. 

"I think so." Danny looked happier. He was pretty sure he had a food baby.

"Good, because you still owe me that reward for finding you." Charlie smirked.

_'It better have something to do with sex!'_ A blush crawled up Danny's neck and reached his cheeks as he remembered what the rapper had said. A grin played on Charlie's lips as he knew what Danny was thinking. With a small shift closer to Danny he pulled him closer, nibbling lightly on his earlobe. "Let's get to our room." Charlie whispered teasingly, leaving a hard bite where he was previously nibbling. Danny loyally followed like a lost puppy as Charlie walked to their room.

When Danny walked in a loud gasp of surprise left him as he was pinned tightly to the closed door, feeling kisses trail from the back of his neck upwards. He was effortlessly flipped around to face the hungry blue eyes of Charlie as the male went back to kissing up Danny's neck, travelling along his jaw and then going back to his neck. Small whines left Danny's throat as his body tingled at each touch given to him, choking back a moan when the rapper brushed across a certain point at his neck that felt better than anywhere else. The rapper smirked against that area, nibbling at it and gaining satisfaction from the small breathy groans Danny let out.

Charlie's hands found their way to Danny's hips, journeying in circles and he started chewing slightly on the homeless male's neck. Proud of the loud moan that Danny couldn't control as Charlie gave a rough bite to the area. The noises Danny made made Charlie let out short breaths himself, feeling like his jeans were a bit too tight as he tugged on Danny's. "Charlie~" Danny whined, feeling more kisses be planted on his skin. 

"Charlie, s-stop." Danny hesitated to speak. His voice was clouded with lust and it betrayed what he wanted.

"Why?" Charlie breathed, his eyes flickering from the mark he made to Danny's eyes. Stopping when he saw the conflict of emotions in Danny's eyes, moving when Danny shifted by, an entertained smile on his features as Danny awkwardly walked to the bed and sat down. He let out a sigh as he sat with Danny. "What's wrong, Danny?" Charlie asked, struggling to pay attention to Danny's emotions due to the lack of blood in his head, the red liquid rushing somewhere else.

"I-I..." Danny gave a sad, hopeless look to Charlie. Still seeing the lust in the musician's eyes, but watching it fade as he kept talking. "You asked what Jorel and Dylan wanted with me..." Danny sighed, biting his lip as he looked to his lap with sadness. But Charlie took that bite the wrong way unintentionally, Danny had done that because of what he was trying to say, but to Charlie all it was, was more enticing. But still, he started using his brain more at the mention of the two males, assuming Dylan was the other guy Jorel was with.

"They... Well..." Danny looked to Charlie with sad eyes, getting understanding ones back.

"I'm listening." Charlie supported, placing a hand on Danny's knee, confused by what his intentions where with putting his hand there.

"Back before I ever talked to you once, I was completely alone. And, I had spent all my money, which wasn't much on alcohol." Charlie listened with interest. "I needed a place to sleep one night, but there wasn't anywhere... Except for this a-alleyway..." Danny choked out the words, his eyes watering as his fists clenched. Charlie didn't know what to say as he moved his hand in a circular motion on Danny's knee, trying to be as supportive as possible.

" I-I thought it was good enough, but then J-Jorel and Dylan, they walked up to me..." Danny let out a sob, and Charlie's heart beat fast with worry and anger. If Jorel had laid a single fucking finger on Danny, he would kill the man. "A-and Jorel... He... He..." Charlie gritted his teeth as his jaw clenched, watching as Danny's hands went to his face, the homeless man crying into them.

"What did he do?" Charlie tried not to sound angry, but failed. Danny gave him a scared look, bottom lip quivering as he tried to force out the words.

"He... R-raped me..." Tears fell from Danny's eyes like a waterfall, the rage in Charlie's eyes going unnoticed. "Dylan nearly did too, but this guy... George... He saved me." George? Charlie recognised that name. 

"George? The one Jorel calls Johnny?" Charlie questioned, surprised. Danny looked to him with surprise and a nod.

"George helped me get through it..." Danny sighed, his tears still falling. Charlie, as angry as he was, didn't feel like leaving Danny. Sure, he wanted to rip Jorel's guts out and feed them to dogs, but that could wait. His Danny was crying, and he wouldn't let him stay in sorrow. Charlie used his free hand and lifted Danny's head by his chin.

"We don't have to do anything that you don't want to." A gentle tone took over Charlie's voice as he moved his head closer, much like he did at the motel. But this time he didn't stop himself, placing a soft kiss on Danny's lips and smiling when he felt the homeless male kissing back. And when Danny became more eager he grabbed onto Charlie's arm tightly, pressing his lips harder against Charlie's. Losing breath from the interaction accompanied by Charlie's hand moving up his thigh.

They seperated for air, and Charlie gave a wide grin to Danny as lust quickly took control over him again. Giving Danny a light push back onto the silk covered bed, moving on top of him and locking their lips again with Danny responding without a shred of hesitance. Telling Charlie what had happened to him lifted a huge weight off his shoulders, and as Charlie's hand brushed over his crotch, he felt like he was ready. The rapper tugged forcefully at Danny's trousers, pulling them off quickly. The male under him helped by taking his top off, and as soon as his bare chest was available to Charlie he quickly started kissing along Danny's chest. Biting and nibbling at certain points, licking along the homeless male's V line.

With a whine Danny tugged at Charlie shirt, pulling it off with the help of Charlie. The man gave a lustful gaze at his work on Danny's chest, before moving back down to Danny's crotch, mouthing it slightly through the male's boxers. A loud gasp came from Danny as his hips bucked slightly, his hands holding the covers in a vice-like grip. "Fuck." He groaned as his hips kept moving out of his control, whimpering unhappily when Charlie's warm mouth left his boxers alone. Feeling better when they were pulled off of him and his erection managed to spring free, but he still whined desperately as he looked to Charlie, who was getting rid of his own clothes. 

"Are you sure you're ready?" Charlie questioned, concerned for Danny, but also entertained by the excited, horny look that Danny gave his dick. Danny nodded, letting out a needy whine. 

"Just hurry." Danny spoke, his voice showing how controlled he was by his own desires. A chuckled left Charlie as he moved back over the homeless male, nibbling on his ear again.

"Why would I do that when he have plenty of time?" Charlie moaned out, rubbing himself on Danny's erection and feeling sharp sparks of pleasure each time his hips bucked forwards into Danny, the man under him responding the same way and moving his hips upwards rhythmically." Ah, shit~" Charlie muttered as he felt Danny leaking slightly, bringing his fingers to his mouth and wetting them.

Danny was confused for a moment before jumping at the feeling of one of Charlie's fingers pressing at his hole. His eyes snapped out of their lust-filled state as he looked at Charlie. "You're definitely sure?" Charlie checked, getting a silent nod from Danny, and then a loud gasp that transformed into a loud moan as he felt Charlie push a single finger in. He was given a moment before the rapper started pumping his finger, moving his head to give a small lick to Danny's weeping head.

"Ah, fuck! Ch-Charlie..." Danny panted slightly, needily moving the lower part of his body around, the teasing of unpredictable licks at different, unexpected parts of his member being almost unbearable. It almost completely distracted him from the second finger that got added in, and even the third as Charlie stretched him and prepared him, pumping his own dick in a desperate need for some sort of relief while he waited until he felt Danny's walls were ready.

It felt weird to Danny when the fingers penetrating him left, feeling like he was completely abandoned and needy. He looked over to see what Charlie was doing as he opened a drawer next to the bed, pulling out a condom and not spending much time in opening the packet and placing it on. "You're sure?" Charlie checked again, grinning as he gave Danny's cock a stroke that the homeless male wasn't expecting.

"Shit, stop asking!" Danny growled. "Just fuck me." He whined.

"So demanding." Charlie smiled, positioning himself at Danny's entrance and poking at it slightly. Another desperate whine came out of Danny at the feeling, grabbing at the sheets around him.

"Please..." Danny begged, his breathing hitching loudly at the pain as Charlie slowly pushed himself in. The rapper growled in pleasure as he tried to make sure he wasn't hurting Danny too much, pausing at times when Danny's expression would change, but then start moving until he was fully inside Danny's ass. The homeless male felt a little weird for a minute, a dull pain where Charlie was, that mixed with pleasure as Charlie placed his hand on the male's dick.

It only started to feel amazing when Charlie started moving, thrusting slowly at first inside Danny to help him get used to it. The pain only arousing Danny and making his cock, now a little more wet with precum, feel more amazing as it was stroked at the same pace of the hard dick moving inside of him. 

"Ah, ah, fuck, you're tight." Charlie groaned out, picking up his pace quickly and slowly losing his self control and he pushed himself roughly into Danny, not able to hold back as he moaned and cursed along with Danny, both men moving at similar paces.

Danny's eyes widened as he felt a build-up of pleasure pooling in his stomach and travelling down to his crotch. Constantly cursing and moaning Charlie's name as he felt himself growing closer to an orgasm, panting heavily as he tried to let Charlie know. Not even managing to say anything past two syllables as his brain couldn't process anything apart from Charlie stimulating his dick as well as thrusting his own into Danny's ass, becoming more sloppy and desperate as the homeless male reached his climax, his dick spurting out white liquid that Charlie caught a little of in his fingers. Groaning as swearing loudly as he reached his own limit. Both males were left panting in exhaustion, riding out the last of their orgasm before Charlie pulled himself out, disposing of the condom before helping Danny under the covers and joining him.

Danny let out a sleepy yawn as his eyes closed, not able to keep them open as he was pulled into Charlie's chest, snuggling his face into the rapper's chest and grinning contently. His legs wrapping around Charlie's while the musician did the same, kissing the top of Danny's head with a similar sleepy grin.

"Goodnight, Danny." Charlie muttered, falling asleep with the male in his arms, already unconscious and in a deep sleep.

_Don't you ever let me go..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Believe me when I say that I just put in work, okay? I know you don't see that. For you, it's another update. This chapter exhausted me, especially since I don't write shit like this very often.
> 
> Now, I need to sleep. I have no energy and my phone is at 69% ironically.
> 
> Everyone give a cheer, Danny finally got Charlie's weenie.


	36. Waking Up

When Charlie woke up, a small smile crossed his face as he remembered the night before. His eyes were closed and he felt unwilling to move from the warmth of his bed, happy contentment filling his soul as he recalled how good the night before was. He snuggled into his pillow a little before moving his arm away from hugging it, sleepily placing it over the homeless male next to him. Only, he wasn't there. Charlie frowned as he patted the area around, searching for the male's body.

"Danny?" Charlie muttered, opening his eyes and looking where the male should be. The room was dark due to the blinds blocking out the light of the window, but he could still see the empty space where Danny should have been. His heart picked up speed in a panicked worry as he couldn't find him, fully waking up and searching for his clothes in a rush. He had to find Danny.

A growl let his throat after a few minutes of searching and not finding Danny. A smirk crossed his features at the idea of Danny playing hide and seek again, if he was, Charlie would definitely demand a blow job. But, his amused mood twisted into one of anger and hatred as he came up with the worst possibility. If Jorel had done a single fucking thing to Danny while he was asleep, if either of those two assholes did, he would fucking hunt them down and give them the slowest, most agonising death he could imagine. "Danny!" He called, hoping the male would respond.

"Aron, have you seen Danny?" Charlie walked up to the friend, who glared drowsily at some expensive coffee.

"I've heard him." Aron scowled, taking a small drink. 

"Where? When?" Charlie looked around, expecting Danny to be nearby.

"Last night in your fucking bed, prick." Aron snapped, glaring at Charlie. "You know some of us are trying to fucking sleep?"

"Look, you never complained once when it was you in there, so shut the fuck up." Charlie snapped, ignoring the hurt look that crossed Aron's features as he walked away. Still looking for Danny, but he saw red when he recognised Jorel. The male didn't expect it when he was angrily pushed against the wall, Dylan being shoved away as Charlie's eyes burned furiously. 

"Where the fuck is he?" Charlie yelled.

"Fuck." Jorel hissed, placing his hand to the top of his head where it had painfully hit against the wall. "Who?"

"Danny. What the fuck did you do to him?" Charlie roared, slamming Jorel against the wall of the ship with more force. Dylan frozen with shock and fear as he looked on at the bloodthirsty expression of the celebrity.

"I've done fuck all!" Jorel snapped. "He went with one of your hairdresser bitches to get a fucking haircut!" He shouted, pushing Charlie off him. The man gave a silent glare to Jorel, threatening him with burning blue eyes. He had no idea why Aron put up with them, but he moved away muttering curses. If Jorel was lying...

"Danny!" He called, recognising the male. Danny turned around and smiled happily when he saw Charlie, hugging back when he was enveloped in a tight hug by the worried male. His hair now neatly cut and fashioned to fall over the side of his face, as well as bleached a light blonde. "Oh thank God you're okay!" Charlie whispered, pulling the male tighter to him. He really was just getting a hair cut. When he took a step back, Danny gave him an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry... I wanted to leave you a note, but there wasn't any paper or pens or anything." Danny muttered. Charlie let out a sigh, he needed to get some pens and paper in his room.

"It's alright. There will be paper there next time." Charlie wrapped an arm around Danny, walking with him to the buffet in need of breakfast.

"What about pens?" Danny questioned.

"You can use my personal one." Charlie smirked.

Danny frowned in confusion. "I didn't see any pens..." His eyes widened as redness crawled up his neck, noticing Charlie's smirk and what he was implying. The rapper burst out laughing at Danny's embarrassed state, finding the male's stuttering adorable.


	37. The Missing Part Of The Truth

"Danny?" Charlie called the name of the male, curious about something and smiled when Danny's bright eyes turned to him. "What happened to George?" Charlie was curious. He didn't know what happened, all Danny told him was that the male had helped him, so why weren't they together? "You never told me."

"Oh..." A sad look cast over Danny, and Charlie's heart swirled with regret at the question. "He died." Danny's voice adopted a depressed tone, suddenly seeming broken.

"Died? How?" Charlie felt confused as well as surprised. George always looked so strong, and always refused any big amount of money Charlie tried to give him. What killed him?

"Jorel or Danny, probably both." Danny muttered. "I just found him dead, and they were there, so I ran." Danny refused to let himself cry again, but he couldn't deny the feeling of pain in his heart...

"It's okay." Charlie pulled him closer, trying to comfort him. Danny gave a sad smile.

"We were going to have a life together, I loved him so much... The money you gave me was meant to go to some apartment we'd share, live our lives and maybe have a family..." Charlie's jaw clenched, suddenly feeling anger attack him as he felt the similar feeling to when Aron asked Danny for a drink. Fuck, he was getting jealous again. And this time, he was getting jealous of someone who wasn't even alive anymore. Come on, he had to get it together. He was acting possessive over Danny because of a dead guy, for fuck sake. "Then I properly met you, and I almost completely forgot about him... I don't even know how when he meant so much to me..." 

Charlie smiled and kissed the, now blonde, male's cheek, feeling his jealousy fade into a happy triumph. Mine now. "Wherever he is, it's better than here." Charlie cuddled Danny, rubbing his arm supportively.

"I'm pretty sure nowhere is better than being on a cruise ship in the same bed as Charlie Scene." Danny joked, smiling at the bright smile beaming across Charlie's face at the compliment. It slowly fell as he looked out the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, staring at the blue of the ocean with thought. Charlie was amazing, and Danny knew by now how he felt for the rapper... But a part of him felt like he was betraying George, like the man would be angry at him for finding someone new so quickly. It wasn't that easy to move on from someone who meant so much, was it? Unless he really didn't mean much in the first place... Danny's heart hurt along with his head. How George would have felt knowing this was what stopped him.

But then Danny frowned in realisation. George was dead. He was dead, so what he thought- He couldn't even think. He was dead and not coming back. So nothing was holding Danny back. He let out a deep breath and looked up to Charlie, the man now asleep with his arm around Danny. The homeless man smiled and snuggled into Charlie's chest, letting his feelings for the male take over the ones he once had for George.

_Don't you ever let me go..._


	38. I Don't Wanna Leave!

"Come on, Danny." Charlie laughed. "We have to go, our weeks on the ship are over." He grinned, trying to pull Danny away from the arcade room of the ship.

"No! I don't wanna!" Danny whined like a stubborn child, playing the game as much as he could.

"You have to, Danny." Charlie smiled. He didn't want to leave either, but he'd be here again with Danny in the summer. He smirked as an idea lightened itself in his head, moving behind Danny and grabbing at his ass, breathing down his neck. "You'll get a special treat when we get to my apartment." He purred, grinning wide as Danny slowly turned red, leaning back into him. Danny had become very comfortable with Charlie over the past weeks, especially sexually. His confidence had grown, and it definitely made things interesting. Charlie didn't even feel the slightest bit bad for the cleaners even if he probably should have.

"Okay." Danny breathed out. "Can't I play this one more time though?" He asked, pouting with puppy eyes that Charlie always caved in at.

"Sure, I need to get my stuff anyway. I'll meet you out there." Charlie grinned, walking away.

All his clothes were mostly in suitcases being carried away by trusted people, and Danny only put some stuff he wanted near him for himself. As well as taking Danny's hoodie, something that he looked adorable in. And it only added to how cute it was as Danny had started calling it his safety hoodie, it gave him the same support that a safety blanket would give a toddler. He smiled placing it in the bag, looking over to the square coffee table with black dahlias. Danny loved them, Charlie knew. So he gently took one from the vase with aims to give it to his lion, the affectionate name he gave him after having blonde hair for a while. 

When he walked off the ship though, Danny was nowhere to be seen. A confused frown glossed over Charlie's face. Where was he? With a slight hurry, he ran back onto the ship to look where he knew Danny just was, not finding him there either. Charlie groaned. This was _not_ the time to be playing hide and seek, something he had done a lot over the past few weeks. "Come on, Danny." Charlie groaned, searching as quickly as he could everywhere Danny could be.

He only panicked when he walked back of the ship without Danny, and still with no Danny waiting for him, not even by his car. Aron hadn't seen him, no one had... Charlie felt like crying, something he wasn't used to, as he couldn't find his lion. Where did Danny go?


	39. Darkness

Danny let out a tired groan as his mind woke up, his brain hurting as he cringed, opening his eyes. He still couldn't really see anything even with his eyes open, it's was all dark and cold... The last thing he remembered was being at the arcade machine, before something happened. He wasn't completely sure what had. The ground was cold, the walls around him were cold, everything was cold and Danny's muscles hurt, tired out of his mind.

His eyes widened as he heard a door open, looking to the source as light shined through and a person walked in, followed by another. "You know how fucking hard it was to catch you?" Danny flinched, hearing Jorel's voice and cowering away.

"Now it's finally my turn." Dylan grinned, approaching Danny. The homeless male overwhelmed with negative emotions, his eyes watering as he was lifted from the ground and forced against the wall. No, no, how did he let this happen? Why didn't he listen to Charlie? Charlie would have kept him safe. 

"Please no..." Danny begged. It didn't work before, and he knew that it wouldn't ever work, but he had to try.

"I'll leave you to it, Dylan." Jorel chuckled, noticing the hunger his friend felt and leaving. Closing the door behind him.

"D-Dylan..." Danny stuttered, scared as he felt the man's teeth brush along his neck. "Stop, please. I don't want this..." Danny whimpered. 

"Did you forget? No one gives a fuck what you want." Dylan snarled. A loud, masculine scream came from another area in whatever building Danny was in and his eyes widened, jumping and grabbing onto Dylan with fear. Dylan laughed against his neck, taking sick pleasure in his fear. The homeless male cowered and wished to dissappear as Dylan started biting at him, grabbing at his trousers.

Danny let out a sob he couldn't control as his belt was tugged at again, his heart rapidly beating against his chest as his brain flashed back to what happened the first time he was raped. He didn't want it to happen again, and this time he wasn't in any position to defend himself or run. All because he let his guard down and didn't stick to Charlie. Another sob left his throat as he thought about Charlie, his cheerful blue eyes looking to Danny's with love, the warmth of the rapper's body against his... Another cry left him as the warmth he felt wasn't Charlie's, hating that he could defend himself, even if he tried to wriggle his way out.

"Fucking stop moving." Dylan snapped, stopping his actions when Danny stops trying to hold back his crying. Loud sobs coming from him as his tears fell and wet his cheeks, not even noticing that the man using him against his will had stopped his actions, staring at the homeless man with a conflicted glare.

"Fuck." He growled, walking out and leaving Danny alone. The blonde continued to cry with wide eyes, confused about why the man left instead of abusing him, it scared him... He just wanted Charlie...


	40. A Gift

Danny was in pain, crying on his own in the dark room he'd spent an unknown amount of time in by now. Dylan had changed his mind, sure. But Jorel, he was heartless, and he'd made Danny hurt just as much as he did the first time he abused the weakened male. All Danny had the power to do was cry, yelping in fear when the door opened again. Afraid Jorel was going to hurt him again, and cowering as the male approached. 

"Danny?" Dylan got the male's attention, feeling a tiny bit better around the less dangerous man who didn't have the heart to ruin Danny as much as Jorel had. "I'm sorry..." Dylan mumbled, playing with Danny's stolen watch that still rested on his wrist. Danny's exhausted body didn't let him move, his eyes locked on the ground.

"I don't know if it does anything, but, here's this watch back." He sighed, taking the time piece of his wrist and handing it back to the homeless male. His shaky hand reached up to the watch, his eyes glistening as he felt the cold jewellery in his hands.

"Thank you." Danny whispered. "But why?"

"I don't know." Dylan looked to his feet, shifting on them. "When you started crying, I realised I couldn't hurt you like that." Danny remained silent, listening to him. 

"You were so happy with Charlie." Dylan huffed, sounding disappointed in himself. "I'm sorry we took that from you."

"Can't you let me go?" Danny asked, looking to Dylan with slightly hopeful eyes. 

"No, that's too much of a risk." Dylan admitted, giving Danny a pitying, apologetic look. "Look, I have to go, me and Jorel are going out for dinner with Aron. See you soon." Danny looked away from Dylan. How could he expect forgiveness if he didn't even help Danny escape? The man left and Danny played with the watch in his hand. A few minutes later the door opened again, and Danny heard a voice say his name that he never thought he'd ever hear again. 

"Danny?" He stared wide eyed at the door, or rather, the person at the door.

"G-George?" Danny stuttered out, shocked.


	41. You're Alive?

The male stared with wide eyes at the man he had thought was dead, feeling weird now knowing that he was very much alive. He didn't even know what to say as he stared, maybe he was dead? Or delusional. Either way, a wide smile spread across his face as he jumped to his feet and leaped into a strong hug with the person his heart missed. He cringed at the pain that joined his movements, but it could only bother him so much after seeing George again. "You're alive!" Danny laughed out, hugging George tighter.

"Just barely." The man chuckled, his smile quickly leaving and being replaced with a serious urgency. "Come on, Jorel and Dylan are gone, we have to leave before they get back." He tugged on Danny's hand, the blonde nodding in agreement and following him through the door with a smile. 

They were almost out when the front exit opened, laughter of three men making Danny's heart race as Dylan, Jorel and Aron walked in. As quietly as possible, Danny moved to hide, George following as the living room near them became filled with people and the smell of a takeaway. Maybe food would distract them enough they wouldn't notice the door opening.

Danny silently moved his way back to the entrance of the living room, watching carefully at the men as George joined him. A smile covered Danny's face slightly at the fact that George was alive, but he couldn't lose focus or he'd get them caught. With a sneaky step forward, Danny thought he had got away unnoticed, wide eyed panic hitting him as he made eye contact with Dylan. But he saw his pleading brown eyes, and did nothing but look at the victimised man in an attempt to make a quick decision.

"Dylan, what are you-" Aron was cut off by Dylan kissing him, shocking everyone around. Danny looked on for a minute as the kiss the two shared grew slightly more lustful and heated, before recognising that he was given an opportunity to escape.

"Shit, save some for me." Danny heard Jorel mutter, moving to join the other two. The blonde turned to look at George, amused at his disgusted look as his blue eyes showed his urgency to leave the situation. Danny bit his lip to hold back a laugh as he made his way to the front door, opening it as quietly as possible, disturbed by the growing volume of moans coming from the living room.

"Move your ass, Danny." George hissed, impatient to leave and ready to push past his friend if he had to. But by the time that thought crossed his mind both men were away, out and into the street, running as fast as they could before hiding in a small alley to get their breath back, feeling far enough away that they wouldn't get chased. The three men all seemed too distracted with each other anyway.

"I can't believe you're alive." Danny breathed out, staring to George with happiness glistening in his eyes.

"Me neither, honestly." George sighed, stretching as he paced around, admiring the fresh air he hadn't felt in a long time. "I was stuck in there for so long, any idea what day it is?" Danny shook his head, he had no idea. 

"Do you know anywhere we could go?" George asked, not feeling that he knew a place safe enough. Danny paused, staring at George with a frown. He knew where Charlie was, in his apartment. But where that apartment was, Danny had no idea. He had been taken before he ever got there, but he wanted to find the rapper. 

"I take that as a no." George let out another loud breath, looking around him. It was night, and he tried to think of the safest place he knew that wouldn't be taken. "I think I know somewhere." He thought out loud, walking away with Danny quickly catching up to him. It was silent, and Danny wasn't as happy as he thought he'd be about George turning up alive. His head now in a battle. Previously he thought George's feelings didn't matter, because he was convinced the man was dead. Now he wasn't, Danny had no idea what to do. He knew how he felt about Charlie, but how he felt about George was creeping back up on him, and guilt started to take over. He had no idea what to do, but even if he wasn't as happy as he thought he'd be, he was still glad that George was alive after all.


	42. Finding Home

"Danny!" Charlie cried out, waking up with wide eyes and looking around his room with a mixture of hurt and fright. Swiftly placing his hand on the other side of the bed yet to be filled by Danny, the only trace of him being his hoodie. The rapper's muscles relaxed slightly at feeling the material of the hoodie, pulling it close to him and burying his face in it, the scent of Danny still strong. It helped soothe his mind as he tried to sort himself out after the nightmare he had. 

It was one of the worst nightmares he had since Danny had went missing, if not the worst. It was the most graphic one too, of him finding Danny's corpse and unable to do anything about it, screaming. But he frowned at the nightmare he had. He wouldn't let Danny die, never. Danny wouldn't die before his time if Charlie could do anything about it. _'How are you going to do that when you won't even leave your bedroom?'_ The only voice that had kept him company over the past while gave him a good question. He had his manager complaining that he had to get his ass working on music, but he couldn't do it. 

He wanted Danny. He wanted to have the homeless male back in his arms, he wanted to kiss him and show him how much he cared about him. He wanted to make a song with Danny too, he sighed. _`None of that will happen if you don't go out there and at least search for him yourself.'_ He felt like he was going insane, having a voice in his head clearly telling him what he had to do. But the voice in his head was him, and his gut told him to trust himself. So, with a tired groan, he got up, got dressed, and went on his search for Danny. 

\---~~~---

This was hopeless. Charlie had been walking for hours with no sign of Danny anywhere, just getting interactions with people who knew him. He tried to be polite, but Danny must have taken that with him along with Charlie's happiness. He missed the homeless male more than he ever thought he would, and his heart kept hurting the more he walked with no sign of Danny. Why did he think this was a good idea? _'Because your latching onto anything that might give you Danny back.'_ The voice in his head muttered. 'Good point.' He thought in his head. But he wouldn't find Danny, there was too many people...

But then he heard singing. Singing that he could recognise better than anyone else, and it became louder as he felt drawn in like a sailor to a siren. He quickly followed his ears as he heard Danny's voice. But he frowned when Danny stopped singing, another voice taking over and singing different lyrics more than what Danny had said, but he still followed the voice of the other person, clearly with Danny. 

"Don't you ever let me go." The deeper voice sang, and then Danny's came back and Charlie smiled.

"Don't you ever let me go." Danny sang, hearing George sing it back to him one more time. Planning to go back onto the chorus. He didn't know where Charlie lived, so he had to go back to singing on the streets, and it felt so much better to have George with him again. The delight he felt for being around him finally coming back.

"Danny?" His singing was interrupted, his attention going from his song to the person his heart beat for. The familiar bandana and sunglasses making the biggest, happiest grin he ever wore come back onto his face.

"Charlie!" Danny yelled, running to the rapper faster than he ever felt he had ran in his life. Charlie expected a hug, but instead, his smile was revealed when Danny pulled the bandana down to show his mouth. Wrapping his arms around Charlie and giving him the best kiss he could manage, and Charlie smiled wider against Danny's lips if that was possible.

He didn't even notice the strange stirring of emotions of a certain blue eyed male that stood behind them, watching as the man he loved kissed someone else.


	43. Jealousy Builds

"Danny, what the fuck?" George snapped. Danny pulled back with a small smile, that quickly faded when he noticed George's hurt, jealous look.

"I..." Danny couldn't explain himself. "George, this is Charlie?"

"I know who he is." George growled, glaring at Charlie with a new dislike.

"Damn, no "hello, how are you?" Charlie questioned, amused by the jealousy of the other male only slightly. Charlie did have a reason for being jealous on the cruise ship then, this man was still living, and he now saw him as a threat to his unofficial relationship with Danny. Now he has a time limit to make it official, not trusting the fact that Danny wouldn't get sweeped off his feet by someone else. 

"Why would I do that?" George snapped. He had never had a single problem with the rapper until now, and he wasn't going to be nice about it.

"George." Danny's voice broke the tension slightly. "You need to calm down a little, okay? I'll explain it all to you later." George couldn't ignore the sting in his chest that felt like a bullet when Danny moved to stand next to Charlie instead of him.

"My apartment isn't far, you can get yourselves cleaned up." Charlie smiled, walking with Danny to his home. George following with a scowl. He had to bite back his comment on helping Danny get cleaned up, knowing that Danny wouldn't be impressed and he didn't really want a black eye. Nothing stopped him from snaking his arm around Danny's waist though, pulling him closer to his side and kissing his cheek. He adored the smile and the bright look that he noticed in Danny's eyes at the interaction, he had his Danny back and he was happy again. 

Just because his love for Danny had competition with someone else's didn't mean he wasn't confident in his chances of winning Danny over. He could always get more rainbow ice cream and arrange extra cruise ship holidays if he had to, but he didn't even feel he needed that. One night alone with Danny was all he needed to make sure Danny stayed with him, he was sure.


	44. Feeling Better

Charlie smiled when Danny walked into the bedroom, running a hand through his wet blonde hair. His brown eyes tired, but happy as he looked to the rapper with love that made Charlie confident that he didn't have to worry about George. With a sigh he got up off the bed, pulling Danny closer to him by his waist with a wide grin, giving him a small kiss. "Do you feel better now?" He asked, lifting one of his hands to cup Danny's cheek. 

"Definitely." Danny's knees weakened, a lazy smile on his face as he leaned on the rapper for support. "Your apartment is nice." He tried to keep his eyes open, burying his face in Charlie's chest when he felt too tired to keep his head up.

"Well, it's your apartment now too." Charlie helped Danny to the bed, knowing how tired he was. Probably because he most likely hadn't slept well since leaving the cruise ship, Charlie didn't even know what had happened. He was pretty sure he didn't want to know because of who he thought did it, but he did want to know to have an idea of what happened to Danny. "I kept this for you." Charlie smiled, moving to where he kept Danny's hoodie. 

"My safety hoodie." Danny muttered, reaching out to the item of clothing he missed so much, not realising that he missed it until now when he wriggled back into it with a smile. His eyes shined when Charlie joined him, snuggling closer to the rapper with a content expression.

"What happened when you went missing?" Charlie couldn't help it, he had to know what happened to Danny. He needed to, it wouldn't stop bothering him until he had an idea of what Danny could have gone through. 

"Jorel caught me." Danny sighed out, sadness taking control again. Charlie hated it when the blonde was sad, but it was a necessary evil. He'd do everything he could to make Danny happy over the next days. Shit, he'd do everything he could to make Danny happy for the rest of his life. He didn't care what it took, he'd do it. Even if it's spending life on that cruise ship.

"Did he do anything?" Danny nodded a yes in confirmation. Charlie gritted his teeth with anger spreading through him and pumping through his veins, he knew exactly what Jorel had did just from that. "Well, let's get rid of every trace of him then." Charlie smirked, gaining a smile from Danny as the two connected into another kiss. The rapper's hand made its way to Danny's side, squeezing his hip and pulling him closer. A small bite on Danny's lip made him gasp a little, not expecting Charlie's tongue to dart into his mouth as it opened. He didn't complain though, moaning against Charlie's lips as the rapper's hand moved to his ass, giving it a squeeze. 

"Charlie, where is-" George gave a small knock to the door but didn't wait, opening the door and staring with wide, terrified eyes at the two men. Danny's mood completely deflated at the hurt that took over George's expression... "I was looking for the bathroom?" His voice was flat, looking away from the two with an aching heart. 

"First door on the left." Charlie grumbled, knowing that the mood was ruined as George left. He wondered if that was intentional as he saw the conflict of emotions and thoughts now in Danny's eyes, that jealous feeling swimming at the bottom of Charlie's stomach as he glared unhappily at where George once was.


	45. Studio Fun

"Please, please, please come with us George!" Danny whined, begging like a child and holding onto George's hand. The taller man smirked and looked to Danny with amused blue eyes.

"And hear that man rap about his dick?" George questioned. "I don't think so." George faked a smile, turning away.

"It won't only be him, I'm singing too." Danny pulled tighter on George's hand, getting his attention. "Please? For me?" He pouted, using puppy eyes that always worked on Charlie. His face lighting up when George nodded with a loud sigh and then a smile as Danny jumped around happily, but when he turned and walked up to Charlie, George's smile fell. He didn't want to go to the studio, he didn't want Danny near Charlie... His heart still hurt from walking in on the two yesterday. He wished he hadn't.

"Are you ready to go?" Charlie laughed at Danny's eager nods of his head, grabbing his keys and letting the two men out of the apartment. Locking the door when they had all left.

\---~~~---

"You were right, Jordon." Charlie heard his manager speak, patting his back. "That Danny really is a good singer, and George isn't that bad of a rapper either." He laughed, Charlie gave him a smile.

"I told you that you would like Danny." He chuckled.

"I do, maybe the three of you should work together. Come up with a name." His manager was suddenly serious. "And you have a show in a few days time, then we can have a few months off."

"Alright." Charlie agreed, his eyes fixed on the conversation that Danny and George seemed to be having, it looked interesting. And Charlie was jealous of the smile Danny gave, he wanted every smile Danny gave like that to be towards him and no one else.

"Hey, man, why didn't you tell me we were recording today?" Aron walked through the door, talking to Charlie with an unamused attitude. Dylan followed in and Charlie glared at the two, not caring for either of them. "It's almost like you want to get rid of me." Aron huffed, rolling his eyes.

"Run with that." Charlie replied, looking back to Danny with aims to distract him from George. Wrapping an arm around Danny when he came running to him, George following with a calm smile too that faltered when he noticed the interaction between Danny and the musician.

"Don't you need me for songs?" Aron asked, frowning at Charlie.

"I guess. Your voice is pretty similar to Danny's though." He smiled.

"Then why didn't you just lose him and keep me?" Aron snapped, Dylan staying silent through the whole thing. His eyes widened when Danny looked at him, fear written on his face as well as George's fierce glare.

"Dylan... Is Jorel around?" Danny asked, afraid. Dylan gave a pitying frown.

"No, he isn't. I promise." Dylan sighed, shutting his mouth when he saw the lack of trust in Danny's face.

"Is he, Aron?" Charlie questioned.

"How am I meant to know?" Charlie frowned at Aron, showing that he wasn't messing around.

"You hang around with him, wouldn't you know?" Charlie explained. Aron's frustration grew as he stared at Charlie, not thinking the male could possibly be serious. 

"No." He huffed. Annoyed at the look Charlie gave him, as if he wasn't being honest. "What?" Aron scowled.

"It's not like I told Jorel where Danny was again." Aron turned to leave, pausing when he realised what he said. With wide eyes he turned to look at the reactions of people around him, Danny seemed confused, and Dylan cringed knowing how bad this could go. What scared Aron was the livid expressions that both Charlie and George wore. "Fuck." He made a mistake. "Help me, Dylan." He muttered, taking a step back towards the exit.

"Nah, I think I'm going to stick with the musicians on this one." Dylan decided, fear in his voice. He didn't want to get attacked, and it looked like both men were ready to now that they knew Aron was why Dylan and Jorel knew where Danny was the whole time. Aron didn't waste time, glaring at Dylan before running out the door, most likely never to be in Charlie's path ever again.


	46. No More Seeking

"This is so cool!" Danny grinned wide, looking around at all the shows and rides around him, people with delicious food that Danny wanted to try all of. "Thanks for bringing me here, Charlie." He looked to the musician, wrapping him in a tight hug.

"You're welcome, so what do you want to do first?" Charlie asked with a smile, his hand on his wallet, ready to spend as much money as he could on Danny.

"Hide and Seek!" Danny exclaimed. Charlie gave him a flat look, warning him that he better be joking. "Okay." Danny killed the idea, knowing why Charlie was not okay with it. 

"Come on, there's other fun things to do than make me search for you... Again." Charlie smiled, walking with Danny to one of the rides.

"Can we get food later? I bet I can eat more than you." Danny challenged.

"You're on, I'm winning this time. What do I get if I win?" Charlie grinned wide, kissing Danny's cheek with a chuckle.

"Hm, let's keep that a surprise." Danny winked, deciding to be brave and reaching out to Charlie's crotch. Charlie's breathing hitched slightly, laughing when he shifted slightly.

"Save that for the bedroom, baby." Charlie chuckled, kissing the corner of Danny's mouth. A smile worn on his face as he went over to buy some tickets while Danny stayed where he was, staring at Charlie with a playful look.

"Can we go to that ride first? Please?" Danny asked, pointing to something that had bright and colourful lights, the largest queue in all the shows was at that one.

"Of course!" The rapper smiled, standing in the line with Danny. He felt unwilling as he looked at all the people before him and his date, but the memory that Danny asked to play hide and seek made Charlie feel like waiting in this long ass line was worth it.

\---~~~---

Charlie searched through the carnival, swiftly searching for a certain person who disappeared. Again. Yep, Danny decided to ignore how Charlie felt, and ran off to hide after they had ate and Charlie had to go and buy more tickets. He had trusted Danny, believing that the male would stay where he asked, but no. He couldn't resist the idea of hiding, so now Charlie was stuck looking for him again. 

"Gotcha!" Danny yelped when Charlie found him, the musician laughing at the blonde's surprise.

"Thanks for scaring me." Danny huffed.

"That's what you get for hiding when you knew it wasn't a good idea." Charlie smirked, pulling Danny close to him. He wasn't actually that unhappy about searching for Danny, it was a good enough excuse for his reward. "I better get something in return for searching for you. You worried me too much."

"Awe, did I?" Danny playfully pouted, teasing Charlie.

"You owe me, at the _very_ least, a hand job." Charlie growled, grabbing at Danny's ass and nibbling hard onto Charlie's ear.

"I thought you said to save it for the bedroom?" Danny tried to hold back the blood that rushed to his face, as well as aiming to stop it going somewhere else. But he really was powerless against how Charlie made him feel, holding back a whine as the rapper bit at Danny's neck.

" Then let's go." Charlie smirked against Danny's neck, pulling the blonde away and to his car. "You know what, why wait until we get home when he have a car? I can just drive us to a quieter place." Charlie changed his mind, realising that George was still in his apartment. The mood would be ruined if George was around, so the car it was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost another sex scene. Maybe I'll come back to it and write that later.


	47. Movie Day

Charlie gave Danny a light kiss before walking out the door, telling Danny he'd be bored to death if he went to the studio today. Sure, he didn't want to leave Danny alone with George, but he had to. And at least he knew George wouldn't hurt him, he knew that his competition would be able to keep Danny safe if anything happened.

"Hi, George." Danny grinned, sitting next to George on the sofa, that sat in front of a TV screen, that played something he was pretty sure George knew nothing about and didn't care for. Only when he got an unintelligible mumble did he look over at the man, seeing the sadness in his icy blue eyes. "What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry, Danny." George sighed, not caring about the show, just like Danny assumed. Something was really bothering him, but what exactly was he apologising for?

"For what?" Danny frowned, not having the slightest idea.

"I'm sorry I'm not as good as Charlie, I can't afford to take you on amazing dates, keep you happy and buy you good clothes." George suddenly vented everything that made him look bad compared to the musician. "I can't even keep you as safe as he did..." George's jaw clenched, glaring away from Danny as he silently tore himself apart.

"Charlie didn't save me from Jorel after he kidnapped me from the cruise ship we were on, you did." Danny suddenly said, the first example he thought of. "Charlie didn't save me from being raped and didn't fight off Jorel and Dylan like you did."

"I'm sure he would if he really had to." George sighed. "He's even a better man than me."

"Don't say that, no one can be better than anyone. Better off, yes, but no one is really better than anyone." Danny hugged the depressed man.

"I want to take you out on a date, just one." George admitted. "I can't even fucking afford it." He cursed. Danny was quiet for a few moments, smiling when he had an idea. 

"That's why we're going to raid Charlie's fridge and watch movies all day." Danny decided, George gave him a curious look.

"Are you sure that's good enough?"

"Food, movies, and a man to snuggle with?" Danny questioned, shrugging with a wide grin. "That sounds perfect to me." George smiled at his words.

"Okay, then we'll do that." George smiled, feeling better.

"Besides, if there's no rainbow ice cream in that damn freezer below it, then all his chances are ruined." Danny declared, making George chuckle lightly.

"I wish you'd told me that earlier, I would have just bribed you with rainbow ice cream and whisked you away." George smiled, sitting up and pulling Danny into a hug. The blonde laughed a little, pausing with wide eyes as George suddenly kissed him. He quickly kissed back, but it wasn't entirely natural and willingly as Danny felt weird kissing someone who wasn't Charlie. His heart twisted with regret, guilt and slight fear. The difference between kissing Charlie and George?

With Charlie he felt magical. With George, he felt... Nothing...

"I'll get us the food." Danny pulled away with a smile, a hopeless frown behind it that George couldn't see.


	48. Matt's Very Helpful Advice

Danny sat on a stool at the bar he had missed a lot, happily chatting with Matt, his favourite bartender, about everything that had happened since he last talked to him at Christmas.

"You went on a cruise ship without me?" Matt faked an offended look, chuckling at Danny's smile. The atmosphere of the bar was happy and stress free, Danny felt better here than anywhere else at the moment. Though it was still a close second to the fancy cruise ship, he still loved everything to do with that ship. But it was definitely nice to be somewhere that no one had ever bothered him, and he didn't have the pressure of a difficult choice on his back.

"So, did you ever find that missing friend?" Matt asked, cleaning a cup. Danny wondered how many cups Matt had cleaned in his life.

"Yeah, I did. A few days ago, it's so great to see him again." Danny admitted, his smile fading slightly.

"Is it really?" Matt asked. "Your face doesn't persuade me that it really is that great to see him again." The bartender observed.

"No, no, it is!" Danny insisted, taking a drink of the beer in his hand. "I'm just, confused about something." Matt nodded, picking up another glass.

"You see, George is the missing friend, and when I only knew him, I thought I loved him with all of my heart, that we'd live together and have a family..." Danny sighed, Matt paused and looked at him. "Now he's back after I've spent so much time with Charlie, I just feel so little for him and so much for Charlie instead." He explained, about to keep talking, but being stopped when Matt paused him.

"I'm sorry, Danny." Matt spoke. "But I apparently gave you the feeling that I actually wanted to know about your love triangle." Matt smiled, Danny gave him a frown. He knew the male was kidding, but Danny really needed advice.

"Look, all I can say is, you said you feel everything with Charlie and that you feel nothing with George." Matt summed uo everything Danny said. "You just have to tell them that, it's not fair to lead them on like this when how you feel is obvious."

"You think?" Danny's brown eyes showed his uncertainty, the feeling growing at Matt's nod. "I just don't want to hurt either of them."

"Well, the sooner the better, Danny." Matt explained. "The quicker you tell George, the quicker he can move on."

"What if he hates me for it?"

"I'm pretty sure that's impossible." Matt smiled. "You'll stay friends with him, I know."

"Okay, thanks Matt. I guess I should go tell him..." Danny moved off his stool, finishing the beer and leaving it for the bartender to clean. 

"You're welcome." He picked up Danny's empty pint. "Let me know how it goes, alright?" Matt smiled. Danny nodded his head, letting out a loud breath as he suddenly felt really anxious. He'd wait until after the show tonight to tell George, so his mood was ruined during a great show. He'd rather not ruin the whole night for everyone. But he was grateful for Matt, an outsider's opinion really helped him a lot.


	49. Breaking The Triangle

Danny walked around backstage with people rushing around him, no longer scared about what could happen at shows. Instead, he was excited, looking forward to singing songs with Charlie on stage, especially the new one they had all recorded together, George was to show up too. But among all the excitement and adrenaline of being on stage, there was the anxiety and depressing weight of the fact that he'd have to tell George how he felt after. A frown covered his face as he breathed.

_'This is now, not later. You don't have to worry about it if it's not happening now.'_ Danny tried lying to himself. It wasn't working.

"Danny, can I talk to you for a minute?" George called over to the singer, the sad look in his eyes worse than the morning before...

"Uh, yeah sure." Danny walked over to him, being pulled aside away from people and watching as George seemed to prepare himself for something. "Wh-what is it?" Danny stuttered a little, worry growing in the pit of his stomach.

"George?" Danny hoped that saying his name would help him, let him know that Danny was here for him whatever it was.

"Danny, I can't do this." George suddenly spoke out.

"Can't do what?" Danny was, once again, confused at George's words.

"I can't pretend as if I don't know how you feel about me." Danny couldn't talk, and when he tried, all George did was stop him. "You don't love me, you love Charlie. I don't want to get in the way of that anymore." He sighed, biting his lip as he found what he wanted to say being harder than he thought.

"You said no one was better than anyone, that people were only better off." Danny remained silent, feeling tears pooling in his eyes as George's did too. "And you're better off with Charlie." He choked out, tears falling from his eyes that he couldn't hold back.

"G-george, I-" Danny's voice cracked with hurt. He didn't know what to say.

"We can still be friends, Danny." George gave a sad smile, which Danny returned. Tears falling from his eyes now too. "I'd just rather you be happy with Charlie than feel pressured and upset trying to make a choice you hate." It was really hard for George to talk now, his voice disappearing and making him attempt to choke back small sobs.

"I'm not going to make things harder for you." George decided, staring into Danny's wide brown eyes with a broken heart. Even if Danny felt like he felt nothing with George, he felt his heart breaking too at what George had to say. 

"We'll... Be okay." Danny finally said something, the smile he had becoming a sad laugh that George joined in on.

"Yeah, we will." George nodded his head. The two stood awkwardly for a moment before Danny moved forward, pulling George into the tightest hug he had in him, shaking as he cried and feeling George shaking too. "Have fun performing." George gave one tight squeeze before letting go.

"Thank you." Danny sighed, reluctant to walk away. But he heard Charlie calling him and he assumed it was important, his eyes lingering on George for a few moments as he stepped away.

"Are you ready, babe?" Charlie smiled, concern filling his eyes as he noticed Danny's tear stained face. "Are you okay?" Danny sighed loudly, catching a breath that cleared his head a little. He smiled lovingly at Charlie and hugged him, kissing his cheek. 

"I'm fine now." He grinned, feeling the pressure leave, though he still felt like crying. He needed a minute before going on stage. "Do I have time to use the toilet quickly? I need to fix myself up a little."

"Yeah, you do. Be as quick as you can, alright?" Danny nodded, walking to the restroom area of the venue as Charlie went to stall everything until the blonde singer was ready to perform.


	50. Never See It Coming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the second last chapter people! There might be some deleted scenes or whatever once this is over, but for right now, enjoy the end c:

The bathrooms of the venue were clean, and surprisingly empty. All the lights worked fine and gave a warm coloured tinge to the small area apart from one that flickered at the end of its life, trying desperately to stay. And everything outside went almost completely unheard, like some sort of soundproofing had been placed between the restrooms and the rest of the building, and the smell of the area wasn't to great either. Danny chose the last stall furthest from the door for no apparent reason, he just felt like it. Suddenly realising that he actually needed the bathroom when he walked in, so after he had done his business he planned on leaving. His emotions still all over the place as he tried to focus on only one thing out of all the topics the voices in his head were screaming at him. Someone else walked into the restrooms too, but Danny didn't think much on it as he zipped his jeans.

Danny froze when he walked out, staring at the other person in the room with a fast beating heart. Anxiety and fear pumping through his veins instead of blood, Jorel was here. And it wasn't long until he noticed Danny, an evil grin that Danny saw so many times before suddenly reappearing on his face. "Hello again, Danny." Jorel casually said, as if he'd just walked into an old workmate that he'd kept seeing on coincidence. 

"You'd think for a homeless man, you'd do a better job at being invisible." Jorel smirked, walking towards Danny at a slow pace. Danny took a shaky step back, scared out of his mind to be face to face with Jorel again. And this time, there wasn't even Dylan around to help. He felt like he was about to throw up his heart as he continued to stare at the approaching danger.

Then something in the blonde snapped, and he frowned unhappily. Standing up straighter and suddenly filling up with courage he didn't know he had until now. But he scowled internally. He was done with being afraid of Jorel. He was done with being this man's victim, and he would never let his fear of this man affect him again. Danny's hands formed fists as his eyes turned firey, glaring at Jorel and ready to fight if he had to. "I'm not homeless anymore." Danny gave a calm reply, anger filling him like a lion backed into a cage. He was ready to attack if Jorel did anything.

"Like that makes a single fucking difference." Jorel laughed. "You can still make me cum." He kept approaching Danny.

"No, I can't." Danny took a powerful step forward, a stronger adrenaline filling his soul. "I'm done with you." He snapped, taking quick steps to move past Jorel, but being pushed back by the male with a small, humoured laugh. A spike of fear stabbed at Danny's heart, but he quickly shoved it away as he focused on getting by and to Charlie.

"Let me pass." Danny scowled.

"Where's this coming from?" Jorel was surprised, but also amused. It was cute seeing this side of Danny, and he was going to enjoy destroying the man's confidence and leaving him more broken than before.

"It's coming from the man who is not about to put up with anymore of your bullshit, so I suggest you move before you end up with a few broken bones." Danny threatened.

"Feisty." Jorel laughed. His amusement stopping when he was pushed back a little by the blonde who suddenly thought he was a tough guy.

"Look, I have a boyfriend out there who I have to support and you're in my way." Danny started, the angriest of smiles he could wear showing to Jorel. And the criminal would be lying if he said it didn't even slightly unnerve him. "So get your ass out of my fucking way now, before I fuck you up so much that even your fucking grand kids will need face lifts!" Danny roared, feeling pretty good about his words. The slightest fear he saw in Jorel's eyes gave him a sick satisfying feeling of revenge. Now he knew what it felt like to be scared of someone. It only pissed him off more when Jorel burst out laughing.

"You honestly think that you can fucking threaten me and get away with it?" Danny's confidence and anger left as he stared, terrified at the gun that Jorel suddenly pulled out of his coat pocket. His heart raced with a new type of fear he had never felt before in his entire life, he was too afraid to even scream for help. Frozen in shock as the gun was pointed at him. 

The steps forward that Jorel took were hurried, scared steps back that Danny took until he was against the wall with no escape. He was trapped, and he didn't feel as confident as he had only a few seconds ago. He closed his eyes as he tried to find whatever courage he had left. He had never once had a gun pulled on him, and the piece of metal that could kill him at any moment made him wish he didn't stand up for himself. He should have just let Jorel have his way with him, it was a much safer option that Danny would happily go back and take by now. 

"Not so tough now, are you?" Jorel laughed, an insane look in his brown eyes that Danny wished he had never seen. This man was not okay. He needed help, but it was too late. Danny was stuck, and he was too afraid to do anything.

"Please, I'm sorry." Danny whimpered, cowering under the crazy gaze of a man who always had complete control over every situation. "Just let me go..." Danny pleaded.

"When in the past has begging ever fucking worked for you?" Jorel snapped. "It's pissing me off." Danny let out a small cry, wanting to disappear. He looked over to the exit of the restroom, begging to God that someone walked through and saved him.

"Please, do anything you feel like." Danny cried, ready to collapse to the ground in fear. "Just don't kill me..." Danny sobbed.

"God, you're so fucking annoying. You're lucky your a good fuck, Aron told me that even Charlie enjoyed you." Jorel smirked, loving the new trauma that he was giving the male in front of him. "You think Charlie actually cares about you? Did he not tell you about all the shit he did to Johnny? Aron? You're just his next toy ready to be thrown away when he gets bored." Jorel found Danny's crying hilarious. The singer trying not to let doubts get in his heart because of this insane criminals words. Charlie loved him, and any minute, he'd come through the door as save Danny's life. He had to. But Danny couldn't wait, to anxious and lightheaded to think sensibly about what he should do.

"Get the fuck away from me!" Danny cried out, the courage he was missing coming back to him for a split second as he moved forward. His hands connect with Jorel's shoulders and he roughly shoved the man away, hearing the start of the insane man's gasped out curse before a loud bang sounded in the bathroom. Not as loud as the weapon usually would due to a silencer, but it was still a bang. The gun had still shot, hitting Danny, ripping through his hoodie and piercing through his body, creating a deep, deadly wound. Blood pooled around Danny as he hit the ground with a thud, Jorel swearing loudly before running out the door, checking for evidence of him being there before leaving the venue as fast as he could. Danny still on the ground with blood pouring out of him, the flickering light on the ceiling finally going out...

\---~~~---

Charlie frowned, staring at his watch. What the hell was taking Danny so long? He didn't want to be annoyed at Danny, he loved him. But he needed to hurry his ass up. The rapper only waited a few minutes more before deciding to check up on Danny himself instead of waiting around. And he swore, if Danny decided he wanted to play hide and seek again... "George, can you stall for me please while I go check on Danny?" Charlie could see the broken look in George's eyes, it was one he recognised from years ago. His heart twisted as he suddenly remembered a younger version of George, one that was more innocent than the one in front of him now. 

"Sure." George gave a smile. Charlie gave a nod of thanks, quickly walking in the direction of the restrooms that Danny was at. "Jordon!" The rapper stopped as George called his real name, turning back to face the man.

"Take care of Danny, don't mess up again." George advised, a supportive smile on his face. Charlie smiled back.

"I won't." Charlie was never going to treat Danny like he had treated people in his past. "He's my lion." Charlie turned and kept walking, growing hurry as he headed to the restroom.

With a sigh he opened the door to the public restroom, his heart shattering at what he saw. Danny was on the ground, bleeding heavily. "Danny!" Charlie screamed out, moving quicker than he ever felt he had in his life. When he got to the blonde, he fell to his knees and lifted him up onto his lap. "Wake up, Danny!" Heavy tears didn't hold back from falling from Charlie's blue eyes as he stared into the lifeless ones of the singer. "Please!"

George quickly followed, hearing Charlie's sudden yell. His eyes widened at what he saw, the body of Danny limp in Charlie's arms. He was shot. The loud cries that left Charlie were joined by George's as he silently sobbed, unable to look away from the scene in front of him no matter how much he wanted to. Danny was only alive not even ten minutes ago... He was smiling, happy to be performing and singing with Charlie, now he wasn't even breathing.

"Danny, please don't you dare fucking do this to me." Charlie sobbed out, rocking Danny's body back and forth and searching for a pulse. "Please, Danny, don't leave me."

"Jordon..." George's voice held a depressed tone, more broken than when he had decided to let Danny go and be with the rapper. The musician looked from Danny's deathly pale face to George. "He's gone..." George felt someone next to him, who had muttered a curse and ran off to call for help.

"No. No he can't be." He refused. "He can't be dead!" Jordon yelled, staring back to the empty brown eyes that once held so much life and excitement in them.

"He is, Jordon..." George couldn't look away as he swallowed the lump in his throat. So he closed his eyes to avoid the sight.

"Danny, I love you." Jordon whimpered. "Please come back..." He cried, his tears falling onto Danny's hoodie, a hole in it that revealed where the bullet travelled through. "Danny..." 

"Please don't go..."


	51. I'll Be There

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that everyone who read this fic enjoyed it as much as I did writing it. I think I'm definitely back to writing fics now, and I have enough ideas to keep going, so stay tuned!
> 
> And, maybe, pay your respects to Danny before you go?

The sun shined brightly over the graveyard where Jordon stood, George next to him staring at the same fancy patterned coffin. "Daniel Murillo" was engraved on it, along with unique swirls that decorated the expensive wood. A stone had the same name just up from it, a small angel part of the decoration of the finely polished rock. Black dahlias were placed at random areas. Jordon had put a lot of money into this, more than what was probably wise. But Danny deserved the best, so the musician had made completely sure that the best was what Danny got. 

Not only was he there with George, Aron had attended too, he even went to the effort of finding his family, the ones who the blonde had ran away from so many years ago, he had no idea that Danny's father had died, but the way his mother talked about his admiration for his deceased parent, Jordon couldn't help it. He went through the effort of making sure Danny's grave was next to his dad's. Matt was there too, and George had searched for the homeless person Danny had given money to at the start. As far as Jordon could see Jorel and Dylan weren't there, and he was good with that. He didn't want the two people who had caused so much pain to Danny to be here.

He was tired of hearing the same words over and over. "I'm sorry for your loss." No one was really sorry for what he had lost. They had nothing to be sorry for and said it because it was the right thing to say, they didn't even know what Jordon had lost. It hurt. It had to be karma for all the people he hurt before Danny, as if the guilt he had wasn't bad enough.

His throat tightened when the priest started talking, saying the lines he had probably said millions of times before. It felt like he was being suffocated as he listened, but not really paying attention. Not only focusing on holding back tears that stung his eyes that were already a burning red, but he was trying to accept the fact that Danny was there, in that coffin. Even if he was the one to arrange the funeral, organise every single part of everything in it, he still didn't want to believe that Danny was actually dead. Not only a couple of weeks ago Danny was alive, staring at him with so much love and care. He had made Jordon happier than he had ever felt, probably in his entire life. How could Danny be dead? It felt like someone was slowly tearing at his heart, making sure the pain lasted. The fact that someone shot him... Investigations were still going on, a chalk outline was drawn were Danny had been killed.

"Are you Aron Erlichman?" Everyone's attention went to the two police officers who had approached, looking directly at Aron. The male gave a confused frown, wondering why they were talking to him. 

"I am, yes?" He confirmed, fright striking him as the woman suddenly grabbed him and clicked metal handcuffs around his wrists. Jordon only stared with empty eyes, knowing what the officer was going to say.

"Mr Erlichman, you are under arrest for the murder of Daniel Murillo." Jordon stared with cold eyes as Aron started trying to claim he was innocent. Even when he asked if Jordon believed him, Jordon's cold expression of newfound, numb hatred towards the male never left as he was dragged away by the two officers.

"We'll give you time alone with him." The priest gave a sad smile to Jordon, helping everyone away from the area that the funeral had taken place, the only people there now were Jordon and Danny. Only then did he allow himself to cry, not having enough strength to hold back his emotions any longer. Danny was gone, and he didn't even want to go. The rapper fell to his knees, blue eyes closing as he sobbed his heart out. He just wanted Danny back. He'd give anything and everything just to have Danny back. He found himself begging internally to any god, any possible powerful being that could even slightly have a chance of existing that they gave Danny back. But nothing happened. Danny was where he was, in that coffin and not about to get up out of it. He never would.

Not too far away from where Jordon cried, Dylan stood watching. Pitying the rapper and feeling bad for everything that had happened to him, he would have stopped Jorel if he could. "Are you happy now?" Dylan gritted his teeth as Jorel walked up and stood next to him.

"I had to frame Aron." Jorel sighed, placing a hand on Dylan's shoulder that he quickly shrugged off.

"I'm not talking about that." He hissed, glaring at Jorel through his peripherals. His eyes never left the crying musician who was having his soul teared apart right in front of him.

"I didn't mean to shoot Danny..." Jorel admitted. "I wasn't even going to, but then he shoved me and I accidentally pulled the trigger."

"You'll burn in hell for this." Dylan snapped.

"I'll burn in hell for a lot of things, Dylan." Jorel let out a sad sigh, unhappy with how everything had turned out himself. "I'm no angel." 

"But that's why I love you." Dylan suddenly said, the smallest grin crossing his lips. Jorel's smile followed as he pulled Dylan close, kissing his cheek.

"Love you too, Dyl." He smiled. "Let's get out of here." The two left with smiles, the weight of Danny's death heavy on their shoulders. But with two of them, the weight of murdering him and framing Aron had lightened. Jorel was only sure of one thing though, he would never carry a gun around again.

Jordon still never noticed the two, not even as they carelessly walked away. He didn't even care as his heart disappeared, agony where it once was. It didn't matter how many times he muttered it, he knew it would never happen. But the small cries of "come back" he felt, deep down, had some effect somewhere. As if Danny had actually ended up in a better place, and he smiled as he felt as if Danny, from wherever he was, had reminded him of all the fun memories they had. Rainbow ice cream, hide and seek, performing together... Those all happened, and it forced a smile onto Jordon's cheeks. He had shared all those moments with Danny, and they'd always exist even if the one that caused them was gone.

Danny would always be there.

\---~~~---

As I look up from the ground, I see darkness all around. And I'm lost but can be found up in the sky. 

Goodbye


End file.
